This document discusses how Looker can be used as an analytics tool to provide insights to users, but also as a data platform by integrating with other services to automatically act on new data. It provides examples of how Zapier can be used to automate workflows between Looker and other applications like Slack and Zendesk. Specifically, it demonstrates how data actions in Looker can be used to instantly flag important insights in Slack, and how scheduled webhooks can be used to automatically create new Zendesk tickets based on data in Looker and Github issues. The document emphasizes that automation reduces friction between data exploration and taking action on insights.

1. 1
Creating Seamless
Workflows
with Zapier
Maxie Corbin, Support Analyst, Looker

2. Looker As An
Analytics Tool
Looker on its own can get the right
information to the right people.
But those people must act on the data
for the data to have value.

3. Looker As A Data
Platform
Integrations allow you to
automatically act on new data as soon
as it is available.
No more shuffling data around
between different places. That's robot
work.

4. Acting on Data from
Looker at a High
Level

5. How Can We Take Action on
Analyses?
Move the data
manually from Looker
to other services
- High recurring cost
- Makes humans sad
+ Low up-front cost
Use a tool that is
especially built for
this
+ Low upfront cost
+ Low recurring cost
Build a microservice
to automate moving
the data from one
place to another
- High upfront cost
+ Low recurring cost

6. Automating these processes
and creating seamless
workflows reduces the friction
between exploration and
action.
Why is
automation so
rad?

7. Basic Tasks to Automate
Structure the
data in whatever
format the target
service needs it to
be in.
Extract the data
you want to act
upon from where
it lives
Send the data to
the service so
that it can take
the appropriate
action.

8. Step 1: Using Data
Actions and
Webhooks
Data actions are initiated by an end-user and
can be used to send data to external services.
Scheduled Webhooks also send data to
external services, but are scheduled in
advance and can be recurring.

9. Steps 2 + 3:
Take Action
with Tools like
Zapier
Zapier is a platform for linking web
applications together and automating
how they interact.
Zapier works as the translator and
go-between for Looker and any other
service you want to integrate with.

10. Example 1:
Using Looker to
Announce or Flag
Important Stuff

11. Enable support analysts and
managers to flag anything that
looks off immediately, right from
Looker, without taking them out of
their flow.
As an example, I'll post a quick
notification to a Slack channel
using a Data Action.
Example: Flag or
announce an
important thing

12. Step 1: Create the Data Action

13. Step 2: Create the Zap
*note*
You'll need to
test the Data
Action in an
explore to
complete this
step. Just open
an ad-hoc
explore and fire
one off

14. Demo!
Due to sensitivity of the data, I'll be
using surf log data instead

15. ● Instantly bring an insight you
had while engaged in analysis
to Slack.
● No more copying and pasting
or taking screenshots.
● Start conversations by
posting into direct messages
or using @here in a channel
Benefits

16. Example 2:
Automatically
create new Zendesk
tickets from data in
Looker

17. Example: Create
a Zendesk ticket
for new Github
issues
● Engineers work in Github
● Customer Success works in
Zendesk
● We use ZD tickets to record
which customers were
impacted by which issues
● Creating a matching Zendesk
ticket manually kind of sucks

18. Some Extra Conditions
Don't create ZD
tickets for issues
that engineers
created
Don't create ZD
tickets for issues
that already have
a ZD ticket linked
to them
Looker is the
only place that
has all the data
we need to filter
these cases out

19. Step 1: Create Look

20. Step 2: Create Scheduled Webhook

21. Step 3: Create the Zap

22. Demo!
Due to sensitivity of the data, I'll be
using surf log data instead

23. ● For us: improved follow-up
on bugs encountered by
non-support staff
● More reliable relationship
between ZD tickets and
Github issues
● More generally, ability to
take any kind of action on
many things at once without
any manual intervention
Benefits

24. So many integrations (over 750)

25. Questions?
● Add email address to campaign on
MailChimp
● Create or update Zendesk ticket
● Add to-do to Todoist / Omnifocus /
Wunderlist / Basecamp / Asana
● Open a Github issue
● Add a row to MySQL or Postgres
● Send an email and a Zoom invite
● Update a Salesforce record
● Invoke an AWS Lambda function
● Create a Trello card
● Notify yourself by Slack for new
events in EVE Online
● Create new OpsGenie alerts
● Send text messages
More Examples!

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