Designing a booking room experience: streamlined, intuitive, and aligned with internal workflow.

Helping employees find, reserve, and manage meeting rooms seamlessly, supporting better organization, clearer scheduling, and improved team coordination within the company.

Context

This project was developed as part of a whiteboard challenge during a UX Bootcamp in February 2025, using an AI-generated prompt to simulate a real-world business problem. Acting as a Product Designer, I independently created a functional solution to improve meeting room usage in a fictional company. The goal was to demonstrate strategic thinking, problem-solving, and clear communication of design decisions.

Role

Product Designer

Duration

2 months

Team

Solo Designer

Tools

Figma, FigJam, Claude.ai, ChatGPT

Problem Space

The company struggled with inefficient meeting room usage due to an unstructured, first-come-first-served system. Issues like small teams occupying large rooms and peak-hour bottlenecks led to delays and reduced productivity. The goal was to design a smarter digital solution to centralize bookings, improve room visibility, and optimize usage.

Solution

A minimalist iOS app was designed to streamline room bookings through smart matching, timed check-ins, and Google Calendar integration. With real-time status indicators and automated room release, the system ensures efficient use and easy scheduling via a simple, intuitive interface.

Impact

By implementing the Smart Room Matching app, the company would benefit from increased operational efficiency, improved resource allocation, and a more seamless meeting experience. Users would save time and avoid frustration through real-time room availability, smart matching based on group size, and a simple check-in flow that minimizes no-shows. On an organizational level, the app enables better planning, reduces room conflicts, and supports more productive collaboration by ensuring that meeting spaces are used effectively and fairly.

Step One

Auditing the Experience

Designing this solution emphasized the balance between automation and user control. The smart matching system streamlined booking, while the check-in flow ensured accountability. A key challenge was keeping the interface intuitive despite complex logic. Working with AI-generated assumptions required strong critical thinking to simulate realistic scenarios. This project showed that minimal, focused interfaces can address real operational issues when built on thoughtful logic and behavioral insight.

Challenge

The biggest challenge was designing without real users or stakeholders, relying on AI interviews and assumptions to simulate realistic behavior and prioritize features. Balancing simplicity with complex organizational needs like no-shows and room misuse while considering business constraints required critical thinking and strategic trade-offs.

Step Two

Step Two: Research and Insights

To deeply understand the context and shape an efficient solution, I conducted a structured analysis of the challenge proposed by the bootcamp challenge and request to the Claude.ai to generate assumption mappings, information that a real company would typically provide during a discovery phase.

 

These assumptions revealed key patterns: a mismatch between room size and actual usage, and frequent last-minute bookings or forgotten cancellations. Additionally, users strongly preferred a fast and intuitive experience, especially during peak hours.

 

I focused on the company’s specific needs, like room policies, real-time check-ins, and ease of use without training. The solution was tailored to its infrastructure and booking habits, leading to key features such as smart room matching and a simple check-in/no-show system to boost usability and adoption.

Proto-Persona 1

The Team Lead

Agility and practicality for short, frequent team meetings, often scheduled on the go. Needs tools that don’t interrupt their workflow.

Motivation

Wants to keep the team aligned and productive with minimal friction, valuing time efficiency and collaborative momentum.

Behavior

Books small rooms multiple times a week. Prefers tools that require little to no learning curve and allow quick rebooking.

Pain Points

Frequently experiences frustration when small groups misuse large rooms during peak hours, and inconsistent adoption of tools.

Design Consideration

Smart room suggestions based on usage habits and team size, alongside a quick and intuitive booking flow, and mobile-first experience.

Proto-Persona 2

The Busy Manager

Clarity and coordination are key for managing multiple cross-functional meetings. Needs visibility and tools that ensure everyone is aligned on space usage.

Motivation

Save time and avoid meeting delays by relying on tools that are efficient, clear, user-friendly, and require minimal effort to use.

Behavior

Frequently forgets or skips meetings because there’s no clear check-in system in place, and it’s easy to lose track of room details or meeting locations.

Pain Points

Often feels lost using current tools and misses system emails or sees them too late, which leads to unexpected cancellations and last-minute rebooking stress.

Design Consideration

Needs clear visual feedback and timely reminders to avoid no-shows and make room booking simpler and more reliable.

Step Three

Ideation

With clearly mapped assumptions and user needs in mind, I explored several ideas to solve key pain points like last-minute bookings, no-shows, and inefficient room usage. I focused on building a Minimalist iOS App with Smart Matching, designed to be fast, intuitive, and easy to adopt by busy professionals.

Ideation Included

  1. Real-time room dashboard to visualize availability instantly.
  2. Smart matching flow that assigns the best room based on group size and time.
  3. Check-in system to confirm room usage and release unused spaces.
  4. Google Calendar Integration for those who prefer syncing events, but keeping it optional.

 

Throughout this phase, the balance between simplicity and effectiveness guided every design decision. Features were prioritized based on business impact, user effort, and feasibility, ensuring a scalable and realistic solution for the company’s specific environment.

Step Four

Business Logic Behind the Solution

To ensure efficiency, clarity, and optimal use of the company’s physical spaces, the app operates based on conditional logic rules. The system checks room availability in real time and determines what status to display to employees, based on the current time, upcoming bookings, and internal company policies.

Booking Available All Day

The room has no scheduled meetings and is fully available.

Booking Available Until [time]

The room is available now, but there’s a meeting scheduled later today.

Meeting Starting at [time]

The room is available, but a meeting is starting within the next 30 minutes.

Meeting Ending at [time]

The room is currently in use but will become available in the next 30 minutes.

Next Available at [time]

The room is occupied and won’t be available again for at least 30 minutes.

Blocked for Maintenance

The room is temporarily unavailable due to cleaning or maintenance.

In addition to status updates, the system follows specific rules to keep things organized and efficient:

 

  • 20-minute meetings are only allowed if there’s at least a 5-minute buffer before the next booking.
  • The logic respects time gaps and automatically adjusts the room display on the dashboard.
  • If no one checks in for a meeting, the room is released after 10 minutes and marked as available again.

 

This logic-driven approach creates an intuitive interface that reflects the reality of a hybrid work environment, combining tech, business rules, and user experience in one seamless system.

Step Five

Handoff

Documented design decisions, product, user flows, and UI specs to ensure a smooth transition from design to development, promoting alignment and consistency.

1. Problem and Pain-Point

Central Problem

Inefficient use of 8 meeting rooms, leading to resource waste and user frustration.

Detailed Context

  • Available resources: 8 meeting rooms
  • Identified issues:
    • Cancellations without room release
    • Underutilization (e.g., 2 people using rooms designed for 11)
    • High demand during peak hours (9 AM–11 AM and 2 PM–5 PM)
    • The current system is purely based on “first come, first served” booking
    • There is an informal and inefficient scheduling system via Google Calendar adopted by some employees

Impact of the Problem

Organizational

  • Loss of productivity
  • Inefficient resource allocation
  • Potential disruption of critical meetings

User Experience

  • Frustration in finding available rooms
  • Time wasted searching for open spaces
  • Possible meeting delays

Operational

  • Challenges in scheduling and planning
  • Conflicts between teams over room availability
  • Lack of predictability in room usage

Project Goals

  • Optimize meeting room utilization
  • Enhance user experience
  • Implement an efficient room management system
  • Reduce resource waste

Business Assumptions

Infrastructure

  • The company has a corporate email system
  • Wi-Fi is available in all meeting rooms
  • A basic calendar system is already in use

Size & Distribution

  • 8 meeting rooms of different sizes:
    • 2 large rooms (11-20 people)
    • 3 medium rooms (7-10 people)
    • 3 small rooms (1-6 people)

Occupancy Dynamics

  • Hybrid work policy implemented
  • 60-70% of employees present in the office simultaneously on regular days
  • Peak occupancy on Tuesdays and Thursdays (75-80% present)
  • An average of 130-160 people in the office daily

User Assumptions

Behaviors

  • Prefer time slots between 9 AM-11 AM and 2 PM-5 PM
  • Tend to book larger rooms than necessary
  • Frequently forget to cancel reservations
  • Often set up recurring bookings by default

Needs

  • Require instant booking confirmation
  • Expect a quick and simple reservation process
  • Need clear visibility of room availability
  • Want flexibility for last-minute changes

Current Issues Assumptions

Technological

  • The current system is either basic or nonexistent
  • No integration with personal calendars
  • Lack of real-time room usage tracking
  • No automation in the booking process

Organizational

  • No clear policies for room usage
  • No consequences for misuse
  • Lack of usage metrics and data insights
  • Common practice of booking just in case

Constraints Assumptions

Budgetary

  • Preference for cost-effective solutions
  • Need for a clear ROI justification
  • Limited resources for complex implementations

Technical

  • The solution must be easy to adopt
  • Preference for well-known and reliable technologies
  • Compatibility with existing systems is crucial

Prioritization Matrix

High Impact / Low Effort (Priority 1)

Check-in/No-show System

  • Presence confirmation within the first 5 minutes
  • Automatic room release if no check-in is made
  • Notifications for users on the waitlist

Smart Matching

  • Automatic room suggestions based on the number of attendees
  • Recommendations for rooms that best fit meeting needs
  • Optimization of space utilization

High Impact / High Effort (Priority 2)

Analytics Dashboard

  • Usage metrics and insights
  • Patterns of room usage by time/team
  • Occupancy reports

Smart Booking System

  • Integration with corporate calendars
  • Automated booking confirmations
  • Mobile-friendly interface

Low Impact / Low Effort (Priority 3)

Usage Policy

  • Clear booking rules
  • Maximum advance reservation time
  • Cancellation guidelines

Quick Booking

  • Fast reservations for ad-hoc meetings
  • Simplified interface
  • Last-minute booking availability

Low Impact / High Effort (Priority 4)

Gamification System

  • Points for responsible usage
  • Leaderboards for frequent users
  • Incentives for mindful booking

IoT Integration

  • Presence sensors
  • Automated equipment control
  • Real-time monitoring

Implementation Recommendations:

Phase 1 (Immediate):

  • Check-in/No-show System
  • Smart Matching
  • Usage Policy

Phase 2 (Mid-term):

  • Smart Booking System
  • Quick Booking
  • Basic Analytics Dashboard

Phase 3 (Long-term):

  • Advanced Analytics
  • Gamification
  • IoT Integration

Hypothesis 1: Check-in & Automatic Room Release

IF we implement a mandatory check-in system within the first 5 minutes of a meeting, THEN we will reduce blocked but unused room time by 70%, BECAUSE users will be required to confirm their presence, and no-show rooms will be automatically released.

Hypothesis 2: Smart Matching

IF we develop a system that automatically suggests rooms based on the number of participants, THEN we will optimize space utilization by 80%, BECAUSE it will prevent small groups from occupying large rooms unnecessarily.

Hypothesis 3: Agile Booking System

IF we create a simplified interface with a clear view of room availability, THEN user satisfaction will increase by 60%, BECAUSE they will be able to find and book appropriate rooms more quickly.

Hypothesis 4: Smart Notifications

IF we implement an automatic notification system, THEN we will reduce scheduling conflicts by 50%, BECAUSE users will receive real-time alerts about cancellations and newly available rooms.

Hypothesis 5: Quick Release

IF we allow users to indicate when they finish meetings earlier than scheduled, THEN we will increase room availability by 40%, BECAUSE other users will be able to utilize open time slots between meetings.

Success Metrics

  • Actual room occupancy vs. booked occupancy
  • Average time required to find and book a room
  • Number of scheduling conflicts
  • User satisfaction rate
  • No-show rate
  • Space efficiency (room size vs. number of participants)

Suggested Next Steps

  • Validate these hypotheses through an MVP
  • Establish KPIs for each success metric
  • Define a testing period for each solution
  • Create a user feedback plan

Minimalist iOS App with Check-in

  • Simple interface: participants, date/time, duration
  • Automatic match with the ideal room
  • Two steps confirmation system:
    • 5 minutes pre-meeting confirmation via push notification
    • Mandatory check-in within the first 5 minutes of the meeting
  • Automatic room release if no check-in occurs
  • Integration with Google Calendar because it combines simplicity with effective usage control

Implementation Recommendation

I recommend starting with Minimalist iOS App with Check-in because:

  • It addresses the main problem (matching)
  • It adds real usage control
  • It has a simple and intuitive interface
  • It ensures easy adoption
  • It allows for gradual evolution

Matching Room iOS App

Dashboard Room Status Overview

  • Quick real-time room status overview
  • Color-coded blocks indicate availability:
    • Red: Occupied for a long period or fully booked
    • Yellow: About to become available
    • Green: Available

  • Tap a block for details:
    • Meeting name/organizer
    • Time and duration
    • Upcoming availability

  • Overview (Room Status) homepage and button Matching (Quick Booking)

Flow

  • User accesses the iOS app
  • Dashboard: Sees real-time room status
  • Taps Matching button for quick booking

  • Pop-up/Inputs:
    • Number of participants
    • Time and duration
    • Toggle to add event to Google Calendar

  • System:
    • Finds the best available room.
    • Automatically books it.
    • Displays confirmation.

  • At meeting time:
    • A confirmation notification appears (even if the app is closed)
    • Options: “Yes, I’m using it” or “No, I’m not using it”.
    • If “No” or no response within 5 min, the room is released

Matching Rules

  • 1-6 people: (3) Small rooms
  • 7-10 people: (3) Medium rooms
  • 11-20 people: (2) Large rooms

Design System in Figma

Reusable components, auto layout, and variables were used to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency throughout the UI design process.

User Flows and Navigation

All user flows were visually mapped in FigJam to support interface decisions and cover different usage scenarios.

Final UI

High-fidelity screens were designed in Figma to reflect the final product experience and design decisions made throughout the process.

What I learned

Throughout this project, I faced a few challenges that became valuable learning opportunities. One of the biggest lessons was understanding the importance of following each design phase in the right sequence.

 

After completing the problem mapping and documentation, I rushed into designing the screens, skipping the user flow. Later, I realized that several edge cases hadn’t been considered, such as scenarios where no rooms are found or when a user inputs an invalid phone number. This made it clear that user flows are essential to identify all possible variables early on, ensuring a smoother and more complete user experience.

 

I also deepened my use of Figma features like components, variables, and auto layout, which allowed me to build a flexible and scalable UI system. These tools were especially useful in maintaining consistency across repeated elements like status tags, room cards, and buttons.

 

Another key lesson was the importance of starting with foundational components before diving into screen design. If I were to begin this project again, I would first create a library of reusable elements, such as buttons, input fields, and layout blocks using Figma’s component system and auto layout. By initially skipping this step, I ended up duplicating effort and making updates manually across multiple screens. This helped me realize how crucial it is to build flexible, well-structured components early on, so that future adjustments can be made easily and consistently throughout the UI.

Built with heart, not just Figma

This project was more than a portfolio piece, it was a personal milestone. It demanded attention, consistency, discipline, and a commitment to learning every single day. Bit by bit, I shaped something I’m genuinely proud of. Reaching this result made me feel fulfilled and even more motivated to keep growing, stay curious, and explore new tools and methods. As I progressed, I felt increasingly certain: this is what I want to do. This is where I found purpose and where I found myself.

Opportunities

As the project evolved, I started to identify areas for future improvement. A few opportunities include enabling users to invite and manage meeting participants directly within the app, and designing a Live Activity or Dynamic Island widget for ongoing meetings, giving users quick, real-time access to room status.

 

These ideas reflect my ongoing commitment to refining the experience beyond the MVP, always thinking ahead and designing for what’s next.

Participant Invitations

Allow users to invite colleagues to meetings and manage attendees within the app.

Live Meeting Widget

Integrate a real-time widget via Live Activities or Dynamic Island for quick access to meeting status during active sessions

Smart Favorites Page

Add a section for favorite rooms, with the option to manually favorite via a heart icon or let the system automatically flag frequently booked rooms.

AI-Based Calendar Insights

Leverage usage patterns and booking history to suggest optimal meeting times and preferred rooms. This AI-driven insight can help streamline scheduling, reduce conflicts, and personalize the experience for frequent users.