Before jumping into solutions, I clarified the key problems we needed to address: build user confidence when performing actions, improve the information architecture, clean up the navigation, and clearly separate global actions from local ones.

Key issues identified:

• Users wanted the ability to update global meeting details from anywhere in the platform.

• Certain navigation items unnecessarily pulled users out of the meeting context, such as meeting travel policies

• The vertical navigation layout caused long meeting names to be cut off.

• Users struggled to leave a meeting

• Accessibility was weak — selected nav items weren’t always clear.

• Users often didn’t realise they had confirmed a destination because it was only shown on the overview page.

• A right-hand toolbar was visible everywhere, even though it was only relevant on one screen.

Because our timeline was tight, I moved quickly and produced early iterations within a few days. Each change directly mapped back to the problems we uncovered and aligned with our newly updated UI patterns.

In the final design, I split the left navigation into two distinct levels. The top-level navigation included global meeting actions like the meeting name, dates, attendees, selected destination, and the option to exit the meeting. The left-hand navigation focused on detailed meeting screens such as the overview, agenda, and budget. This separation helped guide users toward what mattered most. Global actions were used less frequently, so once those were set, the left-hand nav naturally became the primary way to navigate through the meeting.

Before releasing anything into production, we validated the redesign with the Product team and ran another round of internal testing to make sure everything landed as intended.