User Researcher, System Designer, UX Design
My Role:
User Researcher: I dug through 2,419 customer calls and 183 support threads to understand where integration setups were actually breaking down.
Systems & IA Designer: I then mapped 70+ bespoke connector flows into 6 reusable patterns, then designed the Connect experience around them: a 4-step setup journey, an upfront delegation layer, live status tracking, and the workspace operators used to manage their connections
UI & Content Designer: I also owned the UI and content end-to-end, including the interface copy, grounded in the language customers were already using with us.
Quantitative Reality Check
Earlier, an operator trying to get their data into Loop had to juggle an asynchronous, invisible triangle of dependencies:
The IT Delegate: Forwarded a link mid-flow with zero context and forced to create a full Loop account just to see instructions.
The Vendor Rep: Account managers at Toast, Qu, or Harri who had to enable exports behind closed doors.
Loop's CS Team: Manually nudging via email threads with no shared in-product visibility.
4 Problems that got surfaced in the research process
2,419 Call Recordings Analyzed · 183 Support Email Threads Audited
The Operator / GM (96% Delegation Rate)
"Are you able to pull that from QSRSoft? I'm going to forward this to my IT guy."
The Mindset: Owns the business outcome and the Loop contract. The moment a screen mentions credentials, API keys, or SFTP, they delegate. They strongly resist cluttering their workspace by adding outside IT contractors to their permanent user seats.
The IT Delegate
"I'm going to fumble around and misrepresent things... just give me the exact steps."
The Mindset: An external consultant or fractional IT manager. They land mid-flow with zero platform context. They do not want to create another login or learn a new UI; they need a single, standalone link with step-by-step instructions and copy-paste parameters.
The Third-Party Vendor Rep
"Please allow 3–5 business days for our integrations team to process the SFTP export."
The Mindset: Account reps at Toast, Qu, or Harri. They have no relationship with Loop and will not respond to Loop directly. They only act when the customer emails them with the exact required phrasing.
The Internal CSM
"I'm trying to explain connectors, but then I have to explain that Toast is included in their tech stack..."
The Mindset: Acting as a human routing switchboard. Spends 60% of their week emailing customers to ask: "Did your Toast rep enable SFTP yet?" Needs the system to track who holds the ball automatically.
Eliminating Account Bloat for One-Time Tasks
As mentioned in our call audits a fundamental flaw in standard B2B onboarding: the buyer wasn’t the person doing the setup.
Loop required those consultants to become full users just to access a setup guide. That meant unnecessary invites, account creation, and privacy friction all before they could even get started. So we added a zero step before any other set up was initiated.
Intent Check: The setup dialog opens by asking: "Are you setting this up now, or delegating to an IT/vendor partner?"
The 3 concepts for what to send the IT Delegate
Idea 1: The In-Portal Browser Extension
The Concept: An interactive Chrome extension that the IT delegate installs. When they open Toast, QuickBooks, or Google Business, the extension overlays tooltips directly on top of the third-party UI to highlight the exact buttons to click.
Why We Killed It: It solved for guidance but also created some mess. Asking an external IT contractor to install a new browser extension and grant invasive browser permissions before delivering any value would introduce instant friction. Building and maintaining custom DOM-scrapers for 70+ evolving third-party portals was an engineering nightmare we couldn't justify.
Idea 2: Audio & Video Guides (Loom-Style)
The Concept: Embedding dynamic video walkthroughs or audio tracks so the delegate could listen in the background while switching tabs to complete the tasks.
Why We Killed It: It broke under real-world human behavior.
The Pacing Trap: Users don't work at the speed of a video. The idea forces them to constantly tab back and scrub through a video timeline just to find where they left off.
Content Mismatch: Many connector steps weren't UI clicks, they were copying pre-formatted email templates to send to vendor reps. How do you dictate a 3-paragraph technical email over audio.
Production & Tracking Overhead: Our CSMs were already overloaded; maintaining hundreds of guide videos across 50+ rapidly changing portals wasn't sustainable. Worse, video playback gave us zero insights on whether a user had actually completed a step or gotten stuck.
Idea 3: The Step-Locked Interactive Standalone Link (What We Built)
The Concept: No-login standalone URL sent directly to the delegate's inbox.
Why It Won:
Zero Authentication Friction: The delegate opens the link instantly without creating an account, setting a password, or installing software.
Step-Locked Visual Clarity: The guide presents high-contrast, annotated screenshots of the third-party screens with highlighted step indicators, paired with 1-click copyable email templates for vendor reps.
Progress Tracking & Self-Paced Control: Users mark each discrete step as done at their own pace. This gave Loop complete visibility into where the task was in flight without guessing.
Built-in "Request Help" Lifeline: If a third-party portal looked different or a step failed, a dedicated "Get Help" button allowed the delegate to request immediate CSM intervention or trigger a joint call right from the guide
How might we turn 70+ hand-held integration flows into one self-serve journey across three parties, without losing trust or handoff visibility?
The 6 Core Connector Patterns
Rather than designing 70+ bespoke flows, we distilled them into 6 reusable interaction patterns, all built on the same 4-step backbone:
Zero-Touch (Identity Confirmation)
Loop already holds platform keys (e.g., Yelp, Ovation). The user or delegate merely verifies account ownership and location mappings.
Two-Track (User + Rep Parallel)
Combines quick user account access with a quiet, parallel vendor export ticket (e.g., Toast SFTP).
Authorize-Only (Direct Rep Handoff)
The delegate triggers one prefilled email template; credentials flow directly from vendor rep to Loop (the customer never handles sensitive keys).
Single-Invite (Add System User)
Granting dedicated user permissions to Loop (e.g., Google Business Profile).
Credential Paste (Direct API Keys)
Direct entry of Client IDs, Client Secrets, and Base URLs (e.g., QuickBooks, Toast API).
Bypass Track (Smart Branching)
Asks upfront: "Do you already hold a direct API credential?" Collapses a 4-link, 2-week vendor approval wait into an instant 10-second paste.
Older Design versions
New flow:
Instead of generic "Pending" pills, every row and modal explicitly named the responsible party and realistic elapsed durations:
Earlier we had spinners and spinners promise seconds, but vendor approvals take days. We eliminated loading spinners entirely. When a task enters a vendor or backend queue, the system shows clear elapsed markers ("Step takes approximately 24 hrs") communicating exactly how long it might take for them to complete the step and move forward.
We removed the ambiguous "I added the email" button. Connect uses automated backend polling to verify permissions. If a setup fails, the flow regresses specifically to the broken step with an exact diagnostic message ("Role granted was 'Site Manager' Google Business requires 'Manager' permissions").
