Booking.com
Content Moderation UI Tool
Redesigning Booking.com's Content Moderation UI tool
Timebound: 6 months
Role: UX/UI Designer
Team: Product Managers, Engineers, Moderators, Associates, Coaches, TLs
Tools: Figma, Google Forms, Video Interviews, Documentation, Internal Dashboards
Overview
In 2025, I led the post-MVP UX research and iteration for the new Content Moderation UI tool at Booking.com. The tool serves internal moderators and associates who manage user-generated content across different services (e.g. Moderation, Remoderation, Appeals). The goal was to validate the usability of the new interface, uncover pain points, and deliver a better experience that supports task efficiency, confidence, and clarity.
Goals:
Identify friction in the MVP version of the tool
Collect qualitative and quantitative user insights
Improve the experience for both Moderators and Associates
Align the tool’s design with the workflows of different moderation services
Process
Research & Planning
I created a comprehensive UX research plan, collaborating with key stakeholders to:
Define testing objectives and target users
Develop usability testing scripts for both Moderators and Associates
Run surveys, contextual inquiries, and remote moderated sessions
Usability Testing
I conducted 6 usability sessions (in-house & vendor moderators, associates, and TLs). Participants completed real-world tasks such as escalating content, using filters, saving items, and applying policies. We captured behavioral feedback, identified usability issues, and tracked emotional reactions.
Analysis & Synthesis
I collaborated with PMs and coaches to analyze survey responses, behavioral data, and interview notes. We categorized findings into key themes:
Navigation & layout issues
Interaction inefficiencies
Mental model mismatches
Feature discoverability
Key Design Interventions
1. Fixing Filter Friction
Users were confused when filters didn’t apply immediately—they had to process the current item first. I recommended and supported:
Real-time filtering across all views
Removal of the "Apply" button in favor of instant feedback
Addition of a "Clear All Filters" button
2. Saved Items List View
Users couldn’t pick specific saved items to act on—the tool forced a sequential order. I proposed a redesigned list view, similar to "Cherry Pick", allowing users to select items flexibly and prioritize more effectively.
3. Keycode Redesign
Moderators reported high friction with non-mnemonic keyboard shortcuts. I reorganized the keycodes with:
Logical groupings (e.g. all Dangerous & Disrespectful policies visually close to each other)
Mnemonic mappings (e.g.
hfor harassment,pfor private data)Unique system commands using Shift-combos
This greatly reduced cognitive load and made fast tagging more intuitive.
4. Clarifying Service Context
With SLA-based queues, users received mixed types of items. To prevent mistakes, I introduced a visual indicator that highlighted when an item was "Remoderation" vs. "Moderation". This small but impactful addition was implemented and praised by stakeholders.
Outcomes
Presented findings and solutions to stakeholders in two tailored sessions (Moderators and Associates)
Engineering implemented the top issues: filter behavior, saved item flow, and service indicators
The redesigned keycodes and layout updates significantly improved speed and clarity in tagging workflows
Tool adoption improved; moderators expressed greater confidence in navigating the system
Reflections
This project emphasized the importance of micro-UX details in high-frequency internal tools. Small interface changes, when grounded in user evidence, can unlock major efficiency gains and satisfaction for internal teams. My role was not only to uncover the issues but to drive consensus and deliver pragmatic, user-first improvements that scaled across services.