Search Crawler
A no-code way to index external content into Zendesk search
My role
User Research & Discovery
UX & Interaction Design
Collaboration & Dev Handoff
Testing & Iteration
Company
Zendesk
Zendesk
Team
Product Manager
Lead Designer (me)
Engineering Lead
Engineering Team
Year
2024
Background and problem
Imagine being a CX manager who needs consistent information available across multiple systems — or a support agent who wants to share helpful content in a ticket, but that information lives outside the Zendesk Help Center.
In both cases, finding and sharing the right content is fragmented, slowing down response times and creating inconsistent customer experiences.
SOLUTION
Search Crawler is part of a broader Zendesk initiative to make all relevant knowledge—whether public or internal—searchable from a single source.
By allowing admins to index external content into Zendesk Support and Guide, users can find and surface information from any system without needing to switch tools or build custom integrations.
This initiative aimed to:
Enable a no-code experience for content managers
Reduce dependency on engineering teams
Deliver a seamless search experience across multiple content sources
Discovery & RESEARCH
Since Federated Search API integrations required significant technical effort, our goal was to understand customer needs before building.
Together with my PM, I created a research plan and conducted moderated interviews with 8 enterprise customers.
Key insights:
Strong demand for federated search across internal and external content
Most teams needed to index up to 1,000 URLs or pages
APIs were a major barrier — engineering resources were limited, and teams wanted autonomy over which content to include
These findings validated the need for a no-code setup flow and clear content control mechanisms.
Design Process
To support this new functionality, I redesigned the Information Architecture of the Search Settings page. The previous IA was not scalable enough to accommodate new sections like “Manage Crawlers,” “Set Up Flow,” and individual crawler insights.
Old search settings: cluttered, rigid, and not built for growth
Old search settings: cluttered, rigid, and not built for growth
Customization built in from the start
Customization built in from the start
Scalable design for evolving frameworks
Scalable design for evolving frameworks
Crawler setup flow
Building a foundation for scalable reporting.
The design moved away from one-off checklists and instead created a flexible structure where hotels could customize requirements, delegate across departments, and generate outputs aligned with ESRS standards.
Key solution highlights:
Customizable compliance topics → Hotels could choose only what was relevant to them.
Delegation model → Tasks could be assigned across departments with clear ownership.
Progress tracking dashboard → Visual status indicators made compliance transparent and less overwhelming.
Structured reporting export → Generated outputs aligned with ESRS requirements, reducing manual formatting.
Clear framework overview with a scalable UI
Clear framework overview with a scalable UI
Updated UI with delegation built into the framework page
Updated UI with delegation built into the framework page
Delegation workflow integrated into the framework for scalability
Delegation workflow integrated into the framework for scalability
Reporting integrated into the framework
Reporting integrated into the framework
IMPACT
Simplifying compliance for hospitality teams.
Hotels could now manage the entire compliance workflow in one place — from selecting ESRS topics, to assigning tasks across teams, to generating structured reports. This reduced confusion, replaced manual workarounds, and created clarity around responsibilities.
For the business, the ESRS feature positioned Because.eco as a trusted compliance partner, increased platform stickiness, and opened opportunities for enterprise-level adoption as deadlines approached.
Learnings
Building for adoption and scalability, not just compliance.
The biggest barrier wasn’t regulation — it was user unfamiliarity. Designing a guided, approachable flow was critical to adoption.
Early feedback loops with customers helped us define the “must-have” features, avoiding scope creep while staying compliant.
A clear MVP now creates a scalable foundation for long-term reporting, role-based access, and enterprise integrations.
My role
User Research & Discovery
UX & Interaction Design
Collaboration & Dev Handoff
Testing & Iteration
COMPANY
Because
Team
Product Manager
Lead Designer (me)
Engineering Team
Sustainability experts
Year
2024
ESRS Compliance Framework
From Regulation to Action: Building the ESRS Compliance Hub
PROCESS
Designing for clarity and adoption.
The biggest challenge was creating an MVP quickly, without overwhelming users who were new to ESRS. We worked in tight loops with PM, engineers, and early customers.
PROCESS
Designing for clarity and adoption.
The biggest challenge was creating an MVP quickly, without overwhelming users who were new to ESRS. We worked in tight loops with PM, engineers, and early customers.
IMPACT
Simplifying compliance for hospitality teams.
Hotels could now manage the entire compliance workflow in one place — from selecting ESRS topics, to assigning tasks across teams, to generating structured reports. This reduced confusion, replaced manual workarounds, and created clarity around responsibilities.
For the business, the ESRS feature positioned Because.eco as a trusted compliance partner, increased platform stickiness, and opened opportunities for enterprise-level adoption as deadlines approached.
solution
Building a foundation for scalable reporting.
The design moved away from one-off checklists and instead created a flexible structure where hotels could customize requirements, delegate across departments, and generate outputs aligned with ESRS standards.
Key solution highlights:
Customizable compliance topics → Hotels could choose only what was relevant to them.
Delegation model → Tasks could be assigned across departments with clear ownership.
Progress tracking dashboard → Visual status indicators made compliance transparent and less overwhelming.
Structured reporting export → Generated outputs aligned with ESRS requirements, reducing manual formatting.
Background and problem
Imagine being a hotel sustainability manager.
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) — part of the CSRD — will require large hotels to comply with structured ESG reporting by 2026. Most managers had little prior exposure to ESRS, and existing tools were fragmented spreadsheets and static templates.
Because.eco, a sustainability hub for the travel industry, needed to help hotels get ahead of regulations by integrating ESRS compliance directly into the platform.
The challenge? Designing a feature that let users customize topics, delegate tasks, and generate structured reports — all while making a complex regulatory framework approachable for first-time users.
Old interface: cluttered, rigid, and not built for growth
Customization built in from the start
Scalable design for evolving frameworks
Learnings
Building for adoption and scalability, not just compliance.
The biggest barrier wasn’t regulation — it was user unfamiliarity. Designing a guided, approachable flow was critical to adoption.
Early feedback loops with customers helped us define the “must-have” features, avoiding scope creep while staying compliant.
A clear MVP now creates a scalable foundation for long-term reporting, role-based access, and enterprise integrations.
To solve this, I:
Mapped user workflows → Interviewed sustainability managers to identify where compliance tasks broke down.
Created a guided flow → Users could select relevant ESRS topics and see what actions were required.
Designed task delegation → A simple assignment model so managers could involve finance, operations, and HR.
Iterated through testing → Ran usability sessions with early hotel groups and refined the navigation and reporting templates to reduce confusion.
Clear framework overview with a scalable UI
Delegation workflow integrated into the framework for scalability
Reporting integrated into the framework
Updated UI with delegation built into the framework page
Connect to Content
Add layers or components to make infinite auto-playing slideshows.