Rethinking Navigation and Button Placement

‍Role:
UX Designer, UX Architect

Summary:
Together with all stakeholders, there should be a new navigation concept provided that covers all use cases across the software - it must thought globally.

Questions and Thoughts

First, I collected all my thoughts and questions - reviewing the screenshot. Some topics are difficult to decide because I simply don't know what's behind the navigation points. I would need a complete overview across the software.

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Navigation & Buttons:

I decided to leave the sidebar items as they are, since multiple sub-items are possible, it remains easily expandable so that each level can contain one or even more sub-levels.
I moved the buttons from the right bottom into the navigation to have them in the first view for the user. It is always difficult to find buttons, that are aligned to the button, if the content of the page is visible - as the normal user starts with reading in the left top.

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Projects at the top:
This solution provides a good overview if you have several projects open at the same time. You could easily click to open a new project or switch between open projects in the top of the page.
If there are many projects a search would be useful.
Depending on how many projects there are, a project overview page could help the user to navigate.

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Wireframe

Further Ideas & next Steps

• Conduct usability testing of the wireframe, just show it to a few people to see if the solution is understandable.
• Discuss with everyone involved: Does the solution work for all use cases in the software?
• Navigation is always a fundamental part that affects everything. It must therefore always be considered holistically
• UX Writing: The design should be checked by a UX writer to work in a customer-centered and consistent way.
  

—> Set up a UX Research plan

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