Having identified the areas of activity within an organisation that are to be reviewed using Design Atlas it is important to ascertain who will actually use the questions and undertake the audit.

Again, this can be achieved through different approaches. Wherever possible it is useful for anyone auditing design capability to have an understanding of how design can be used in a business context. The Design in Business Book provides an excellent guide to this and would make an ideal introduction.

Some of the questions in the Design Atlas framework are searching and require insight into how fundamental business processes operate. In reality only personnel in senior management positions within an organisation will have an overview of these, particularly those who have been directly involved in managing design. There is, however, enormous benefit to be had from all staff answering questions. This will raise awareness of many of the issues across the business. It will also bring parity to the scoring (experience shows that in most audit activity senior staff within a business will generally score a business higher than other employees). Engaging all staff in the process of auditing design capability also brings buy-in to a process of development. Answering the audit questions is just the start in the process of business development. The audit will identify areas of weakness that need to be enhanced. Making these changes will require buy-in from staff across the business so engaging staff early can be beneficial.