A method for establishing an online design audit platform

Auditing is getting its share of attention as a means of identifying gaps between current and desired performance in many activities. Furthermore, the audit approach has been evolving from the traditional manual process of paper documentation to a paperless, electronic, and online one. Yet online auditing in relation to design activities within an enterprise remains largely unexplored. To provide a useful design audit tool, in this study, we aimed to develop an online design audit platform (ODAP) for internal application within an enterprise. In doing so, we first set the context of the ODAP by constructing a design audit matrix that encompassed six organizational levels and five operational phases. Second, based on the design audit matrix, we developed an online design audit framework for the ODAP. Third, the ODAP was tested and evaluated with the cooperation of 20 participating Taiwanese enterprises. The results show that the ODAP is a good-quality information system in terms of system quality, information quality and interface design though there are some shortcomings, such as the lack of a score-weighted function, a comment database, and a mechanism for information customization. In this paper, we discuss the implications of these findings and suggest several avenues for further research.