Context
Doki automates business trips. An employee creates a trip request and books transport, lodging and transfers in one place; a manager, travel manager and accountant approve it in sequence; and expense reports are filed electronically. Everything that used to live in paper and chats comes together in one transparent flow. I worked on the product at an early stage, as it was entering the market.
My role
I owned product design at the early stage: I designed the web platform and mobile flows, mapped user journeys and aligned them with the product manager. I ran UX interviews with accountants to understand what mattered in their role, and built a custom design system from scratch.
The challenge
Before Doki, trips were managed by hand — on paper and over chat. Receipts and source documents were passed around physically, and expenses and approvals got lost between people. Accounting lacked transparency: it was hard to see who traveled where and spent what. The goal was to move the whole trip lifecycle into a clear digital process that works for the employee, the approvers and the accountant alike.
Research
To design the accountant's screen properly, I ran interviews about what they needed to see on a request card. One example says it all. At first the card's headline was the trip's name — large and prominent. But it turned out the name barely mattered to accountants. What was critical were the dates: when the employee flies out and returns. I reworked the card's hierarchy to make the dates prominent and primary. A small change, but it captures the approach: understand what matters to the user first, then set the emphasis.
Request & approval flow
An employee creates a request — picks the destination, dates and transport, and books flights and hotels. The request moves through an approval chain: manager → travel manager → accountant. Once an approver signs off, tickets are purchased and hotels booked automatically. Approval progress is visible at every step.
Documents & advance report
Receipts used to be collected on paper. In Doki, an employee simply photographs documents following an in-app prompt. The accountant receives the source documents, reconciles expenses — issued vs. reported, and the difference — and sends the advance report for signature. The whole expense breakdown on one screen.
Design system
I built a custom design system from scratch: components (tabs, request cards, checkboxes, progress bars) and, most importantly, a unified system of process statuses. A trip passes through many states — pending approval, trip soon, on the trip, documents submitted, documents under review, advance report, completed and more. I designed a clear color and text system for statuses so that on any screen it's obvious where a trip stands.
Recognition & outcome
Doki was selected for TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 — the founder presented the product in San Francisco. The product launched to market; one of its first clients was Tele2, a major telecom operator.
Next case
BirGo