The Context of Value Management

What are Values? Beliefs about how things should be OR subconscious influences on our perception of the world. We all have the same basic human values but they're present to different extents in each of us, making us unique. Commonality of values ties groups together. Instrumental Values are reflected in actions. Terminal Values are reflected in desired outcomes. We value things and people that mirror/reflect our values. We never know what our actual values are. We can observe the influence of our values in our actions and decisions. Informing Stakeholder Judgements of Values Architects want to create a building that reflects the stakeholders values. Architects control the information available to stakeholders to judge the emerging design. Therefore, stakeholders judgements can be biased.  Eliciting Values To gain a better judgement of client values, we need to elicit them but it is extremely hard. Values cannot be directly elicited but only revealed through patterns in their judgements, preferences and behaviours that can be established through workshop forums. Value Systems and Values A single value is a single belief. An individual with many values has many beliefs. A value system is a collection of values - they influence stakeholders judgement of value. People in organisations share a common value system. Companies therefore have a value systems shared by it's members. Every time we form an opinion, express a preference or make a judgement, our values influence us. We can never understand our underlying values but we can observe their consequences. Value Management Workshops provide forums to observe the consequences of each other's values - they provide the full picture of value beyond the basic interaction of functionality and cost. Value Vs. Values Values are intangible and tacit.  The two concepts are intimately linked but are fundamentally different. Value cannot be understood without understanding the values of people and organisations.  Value is ultimately judged by those experiencing it and these judgements are biased by values. Value is what we want out of a situation, experience or change, it exists between a stakeholder and a building.  Value in construction seeks an appropriate balance between functionality and cost.  Values are beliefs and attitudes about how things should be.  Each stakeholder has a unique set of values which combine to form their own unique value system. Each of us have the same basic human values but are present in different combinations, making each of us unique. Organisations or groups of people tend to have a commonality of values. Every time a person makes a judgement, they are doing so under influence of their values. People's perceptions a tacitly framed by these values, making peoples' interpretations bias and their judgements irrational. Government Policy Until recently, UK Government policy guiding the procurement of public buildings considered value a result of investment in 'design quality'. Due to the difficulty in quantifying the benefits of creating additional value that stakeholders perceive in a building (e.g. schools that motivate children to learn), a clear business case is hard to develop to justify the higher capital costs. UK Government policy 2001-2010 advocated The Value Agenda which promoted good design for social benefit (e.g. well designed parks bring communities together)

The Design Quality Indicator (DQI) The DQI was adopted to address the problem of quantifying value by helping designers to engage in the discussion of design quality so design proposals can be evaluated against expectations.  BUT DQI examines the presence of build qualities rather than recognising stakeholders' subjective view of value which is an important difference that was ignored by this policy.  DQI adopts the Vitruvian principles which are expressed as 'build quality', 'functionality' and 'impact'. DQI helps a facilitator lead stakeholders through the setting of design targets and evaluation of emerging solutions around these parameters.  Despite criticism, the DQI became a central part of Government policy and remains part of Government Procurement Guidance. 

Subjective Value Exists in the relationship between people and objects.  It is a property of both, yet a property of neither. Value management is concerned with subjective value. Value management considers the appropriate spending of money in return for functionality. Appropriateness is determined by the client body's values. Function Analysis The systematic analysis of a product's purpose so functions not facilitating that purpose can be removed.  Elicits the functions that stakeholders expect a building to provide.  Differentiates between needed and wanted functions. Wanted functions can be removed without harming value.  Function Analysis is the disciplined definition of requirements using a strict verb-noun format to ensure that only functional requirements are stated so that the solution is not influenced.  Value Analysis The use of function analysis to improve an existing design. Method has largely been superseded in current practice by other concepts. Value Engineering The term emerged as value analysis grew into widespread adoption.  Value Engineering is 'the structured use of function analysis within a facilitated 40-hour workshop that follows the Job Plan.  What is Value Management? 'The name given to a process in which the functional benefits of a project are made explicit and appraised consistent with a value system determined by the client. VM workshops are a series of workshops during a construction project. They create a forum for stakeholders to build a common understanding.  VM seeks to help a group of stakeholders 'socially construct' a common understanding of how a design solution must perform to provide a moderate amount of value to all of them rather than a maximal amount to any one of them.  What is Applied Value Engineering? Is the spontaneous use value management techniques applied late in project progression to solve ad-hoc technical problems. 'Is the problem solving structured consideration of value using a structured workshop process that usually follows the Job Plan and always contains function analysis. The constraint of design fixity means late examinations of design proposals must focus on technical problems of small scope as the opportunity to influence the whole building would have passed.  

The consideration of functionality, the placing of all stakeholders on an equal foundation and the use of rigorous analytical methods are the key components of value management. They ensure any presumption made a stakeholder on a building is challenged and only allows to influence the design if justified in relation to the views and underlying values of all other stakeholders and the functions they collectively require (determined by function analysis). Core Concepts of Value Management Stakeholder Engagement - A common understanding of value must be socially constructed to reveal influence of common values. Stakeholders require opportunities for sense making.  Client Body, Stakeholders and The Procuring Client Client Body - All the stakeholders considered together - due to differing underlying values, there is potential for conflict within a client body.  Stakeholders - Anyone who is influenced by or influences the project. The Procuring Client - The individual stakeholder who has the business need for the building and instigated the project to create it.

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