Localization Routing UI

Booking.com

TL;DR

Problem: Routing rules lived in a database, so every tweak meant opening an engineering ticket.

My move: Designed a self-service interface with drag-and-drop logic, real-time validation, and a clear job dashboard.

Impact: Operations teams now edit rules without dev help; translation requests move faster and satisfaction scores rose in post-launch surveys.

Design of Booking.com's Localization Team Routing UI

Timebound: 6 months

Role: Product Designer

Tools: Figma, Miro, Whiteboard

Note: Due to confidentiality agreements, specific details about the platform and proprietary design elements cannot be shared.

Where we were guessing

We knew localization project managers (LPMs) were stuck waiting on developers.

Unknowns on day one:

Which decisions needed daily edits—and which could stay hard-coded?
How much “technical” language could LPMs comfortably use?
How do we create a logic dashboard for such a complex system?

Gray areas

Top nav capped at six links; legal needed more

“Looks nothing like Booking”

From problems to solutions

What I did with it

Prototype side-menu IA with expandable groups; proved mobile viability in Figma

Audited Design System, injected icons/illustrations + brand colours

Walls of text

Chunked copy, added accordions, improved typography style choices.

Stakeholders feared future re-writes

Built flexible page template and left clear notes & specs in Figma hand-off

Bump along the way

Booking’s localization caused layout issues—long German and Finnish text overflowed and hid links. We spent a sprint adding responsive text shortening, flexible breakpoints, and a quick translation review process to keep over 40 languages neat.

Stakeholders opinions interfered with consistency, but internal design systems and elements supported my proposals.

Copy and localization was a struggle in fitting long characters languages into e.g. carousels or elements.

Results & Impact

The outcome of the project was a new routing UI that transformed how operations teams managed their workflows. By providing them with a user-friendly interface, we reduced the dependency on developers and empowered the teams to:

Increase Efficiency: Operations teams were able to complete tasks faster. Delays caused by developer dependency were eliminated, speeding up workflows and enabling operations teams to work independently. As a result, turnaround times improved, allowing engineers to concentrate on more complex tasks while operations teams managed daily routing.
Improve Scalability: The system was designed keeping in mind that as the tool gained more clients, the tool could expand without straining engineering resources. It also remained adaptable to future needs, ensuring its long-term effectiveness.
Enhance User Satisfaction: By addressing pain points and simplifying complex processes, user satisfaction improved significantly, as evidenced by positive feedback from LPMs and other key stakeholders.

Challenges & Learnings

Challenge: It was hard to understand routing systems.
Learning: Worked with engineers to simplify complex workflows into easy designs for non-technical users while keeping functionality.
Challenge: Engineers communicated in a difficult technical language.
Learning: Changed my communication style and collaborated closely with the product owner to enhance collaboration. Regular check-ins kept us aligned on design and technical needs.
Challenge: Limited backend resources required changes to some UI features.
Learning: Focused on key features and made compromises on less important elements to deliver value within constraints.

Booking.com