project management glossary

value improvement

 See Value Enhancing Project Strategies.

value management (vm)

 A structured means of improving effectiveness in line with the organization's goals. It refers to the overall process of identifying key issues and setting targets; identifying the teams and processes necessary to achieve these; and implementing these to obtain successful results. It is concerned with the broader optimization of strategic issues, encompasses the value engineering process at the project's strategic definition stage and is generally done via a structured workshop.

 An organized effort aimed at analyzing the function of a system or systems, equipment, facilities, and supplies, for purposes of achieving at the lowest overall cost the same required function and/or performance, including reliability, maintainability, delivery and human factors.

value management program

 A program of required Value Management focused on design and delivery of whole facilities, systems, supplies and materials with essential characteristics at lowest overall costs. It includes the identification of high cost areas for study, the evaluation of function-cost-worth, application of a VM job plan, and a systematic interdisciplinary study of selected areas concurrent with Design Development.