Management of Value

There has probably never been greater pressure on individuals and organizations, in both public and private sectors, to do more and more with less and less. For all organizations, finding the resources to meet essential and often escalating demands is putting unprecedented pressure on product and service quality and performance. There is a clear need to match what is delivered with the available resources, without undermining essential quality of the outputs, and to be able to demonstrate clearly that the decisions taken will maximize value.

The Concept

Value is subjective, with different people applying different criteria to assess whether they are getting good value. It is this subjectivity that makes it so essential to manage value deliberately, instead of leaving it as a by-product of any other management activity. MoV is all about maximizing value in line with the programme and project objectives and key stakeholder requirements. It is not simply about minimizing costs. The fundamental question that MoV is intended to address is ‘Are we maximizing the value of our essential investments such that we are getting optimal benefits, at an affordable cost, with a known and acceptable level of risk?’

Qualification Levels

Foundation Qualification
Purpose of the Foundation Qualification - The purpose of the foundation level qualification is to confirm that a candidate has sufficient knowledge and understanding of the MoV guidance to:

• Enable participants to contribute effectively to MoV activities led by others
• Enable participants to understand and explain MoV to others
• Pre-qualify candidates for the MoV Practitioner Exam (when developed) or for othertraining and qualification systems in Value Management.

At the Foundation level of the qualification, the candidate should understand the key principles and terminology within the MoV guidance. Specifically the candidate should be able to discuss and explain the items below.

• The main processes and techniques used within MoV and the reasons for using them
• How MoV may be applied at portfolio, programme, project and operational levels
• The differences in applying MoV at different stages in a project and the expectedoutputs from a MoV Study at each stage
• The circumstances under which MoV should be used
• The concept of value and how value may be improved
• The main benefits arising from the use of MoV
• Approaches for implementing MoV
• How to respond to external and internal influences
• The principles of embedding MoV into an organisation
• The key topics in document check lists, the toolbox, health check, organizationalmaturity and individual competence.

Practitioner Qualification

The purpose of the Practitioner qualification is to confirm whether the candidate has achieved sufficient understanding of how to apply and tailor MoV in a scenario situation. A successful Practitioner should, with suitable direction and facilitation skills, be able to start applying the method to real situations but may not be sufficiently skilled or experienced to do this appropriately in all situations. The experience of the individual, the level of support available and the complexity of the situation to which MoV is to be applied will be factors that impact what the Practitioner can achieve.

The MoV Practitioner Qualification is intended for three groups of people:

Management and staff in an organization wishing to use MoV and whether MoV isembedded in their organization or not.
The PPM community, for whom the guide is aimed at those involved in directing,managing, supporting and delivering portfolios, programmes and projects. Thisincludes Senior Management, Programme Managers, Project Managers, ChangeManagers and Project and Programme Office staff and their sponsors.
Those who apply the methods in other PPM guides to build on and enhance theactivities to maximise value and delivery of benefits.

At Practitioner level the candidate should, in addition, be able to apply, analyze and interpret the guidance for a given scenario situation and, with limitations, be able to perform the functions described in the table below:

Identify situations in which it is relevant to apply Management of Value (MoV) principles, processes and techniques; advocate appropriately to Senior Management the benefits of this application
Develop a plan of appropriate MoV activities for the whole lifecycle of small and large projects and programmes
Plan an MoV study, tailoring it to particular projects or programmes and developing practical study or workshop handbooks as required
Understand and articulate value in relation to organizational objectives
Prioritize value drivers using Function Analysis and use these to demonstrate how value might be improved
Quantify monetary and non‐monetary value using the Value Index, Value Metrics and the Value for Money ratio
Describe and comment on the application of various techniques relevant to MoV
Monitor improvements in value realized throughout a project lifecycle and capture learning which can be transferred to future projects
Offer suggestions and guidance about embedding MoV into an organization, including policy issues, undertake a health check, assess maturity and competence, and provide guidance on typical roles and responsibilities
Understand and articulate the uses of MoV within other Best Management Practice methods and its contributions to them

Examination Scheme - Foundation and Practitioner

You must pass the Foundation examination before the Practitioner examination, either on the same day or separately. If you have previously passed the Foundation exam, you can sit the Practitioner exam without needing to re-sit the Foundation. If you sit the Foundation examination only, and pass, you will receive a Foundation examination certificate. However, if you sit both the Foundation and Practitioner exams on the same day, and pass both, you will receive the Practitioner examination certificate only.

The Practitioner Examination

* This is a 2.5-hour objective test examination.
* The exam contains the Scenario upon which this exam paper is based.
* All questions are contained within the Question Booklet.
* Additional information is provided within this Scenario Booklet for a number of questions.
* Where reference should be made to additional information, this is clearly stated within the question to which it is relevant.
* All information provided within a question must only be applied to that question.
* Each of the 8 questions is worth 10 marks, giving a maximum of 80 marks in the paper.
* The pass mark is 50% (40 marks).
* Within each question the syllabus area to which the question refers is clearly stated.
* The exam is to be taken with the support of the MoV Guide only

* No material other than the Question Booklet, the Scenario Booklet, the Answer Booklet and the MoV Guide is to be used.