Successfully navigating through legacy system complexity
The navigation redesign was part of a bigger effort to reimplement outdated legacy technology. In the planning of this reimplementation, I worked with founders to set project goals as well as software engineers to come up with a strategy for how to incrementally release the new technology to our clients.
Since the navigation is so deeply interconnected with different areas of the platform, we opted to tackle the navigation first. We developed a plan for releasing the navigation along with one area of the platform in the new techonology, while still making the remaining areas available in the old technology.
From a design and product viewpoint, this plan included how to display and manage old and new design components in the platform, as well as how to accomodate for both old and new visual styles in the design system.
Workshop with founders to set project goals and expectations for the reimplementation
Comparison of the old legacy system and the new navigation
Software navigation that reflects industry standards
After more than 10 years of growing the hotelkit platform with new tools and features, navigating the interface had become a cumbersome task. Taking inspiration from other established SaaS platforms, the idea of changing hotelkit's main navigation had been long under way. Following a comparison of modern navigation patterns, our design team had a few competing ideas we wanted to further investigate.
The collapsible side-menu gives users the control to customise the display to their preferences
Several options for making use of the space in the top header
Supervising a design colleague in implementing user-centred design methods
To find the best solution, I supervised a fellow UX designer in the planning and execution of sessions with interviews and user tests. From writing study procedures through synthesising findings and formulating recommendations, I sparred with my colleague and gave inputs on how to communicate with key stakeholders.
The final output was to move the main navigation into a collapsible side-menu. We also suggested additional ideas to still make use of the top header, however these concepts were put in the drawer for now.
Guiding and supporting a UX designer in presenting research results and design proposals to stakeholders
Continuous learning and growth
Helping to plan the reimplementation and migration strategy was one of the first responsibilities I had after being promoted to product design lead, and while I was in it knee-deep for most of the time, I learned incredibly much about working with running legacy systems. Taking part in this project made me ask questions I had never thought of before, and this accumulated knowledge has helped me grow as a designer, a product person, and as a leader.