Where have all the design rules gone?

Many years ago, when the web started out, it was soon discovered that if you keep the click-count down it makes for a much better user experience. I'm not a UX designer. As a matter of fact, a colleague told me that my stuff looks like it was made in Russia - make of that what you want. I'm a software engineer, I make useable stuff. I'm not into fashion, frills and pretty widgets. However, the one thing I remember is to keep the click-count down - three clicks at most, and you should be where you want to be. 

So why, when I go onto my university website and I 

1. click on "Staff" right at the top of the page (which I think is a good place), 
2. it opens to a general page where I have to click "Staff" again to get to the staff options?
3. However before getting the staff options I now have to log in which means I have to enter my username and password and click login
4. Then the Microsoft authenticator on my phone needs the number displayed on the screen.
5. To log into my phone I have to do the fingerprint thing
6. Find the the Microsoft authenticator and enter the number
7. Then do the finger print thing again to make sure, I guess, someone didn't grab and run my phone since the 15 seconds ago when I did the fingerprint thing the first time
8. For the live of me I can't remember anymore why I wanted to go to the staff web page ...

Why, when I want to go to the workshop admin to add or edit a workshop, do I have to:

1. Click sign in
2. Enter, my username and password, click Login
3. Click my name in the top right and then click Admin on the menu
4. Click on Workshops
5. Enter the workshop name and click Search
6. Click on the workshop name in the list
7. Click on the occurences tab
8. Click on the "Change" link
9. I can now edit what is there but I've lost the will to live ...

Someone, please help!