Perform VA during the planning, design, and construction phases of a project.

The most effective application of value analysis is early in the design phase of a project. Changes or redirection in the design can be accommodated without extensive redesign at this point, thereby saving the owner/user/stakeholder's time and money.

During the earliest stages of design, refer to value analysis as value planning. Use the procedure to analyze predesign documents, for example, program documents and space planning documents. At the predesign stage, perform VA to define the project's functions, and to achieve consensus on the project's direction and approach by the project team, for example, the owner, the design professional, the user, and the construction manager. By participating in this early VA exercise, members of the project team communicate their needs to the other team members and identify those needs in the common language of functions. By expressing the project in these terms early in the design process, the project team minimizes miscommunication and redesign, which are costly in both labor expenditures and schedule delays.

Also perform value analysis during schematic design (up to 15 % design completion), design development (up to 45 % design completion), and construction documents (up to 100 % design completion). Conduct VA studies at several stages of design completion to define or confirm project functions, to verify technical and management approaches, to analyze selection of equipment and materials, and to assess the project's economics and technical feasibility. Perform VA studies concurrently with the user/owner's design review schedules to maintain the project schedule. Through the schematic design and design development stages, the VA team analyzes the drawings and specifications from each technical discipline. During the construction documents stage, the VA team analyzes the design drawings and specifications, as well as the details, and equipment selection, which are more clearly defined at this later stage.

A value analysis study performed at a 90 to 100 % completion stage, just prior to bidding, concentrates on economics and technical feasibility. Consider methods of construction, phasing of construction, and procurement. The goals at this stage of design are to minimize construction costs and the potential for claims; analyze management and administration; and review the design, equipment, and materials used.

During construction, analyze value analysis change proposals (VACP) of the contractor. VACPs reduce the cost or duration of construction or present alternative methods of construction, without reducing performance or acceptance. At this stage the alternatives presented to the owner/user/stakeholder are called value analysis change proposals. To encourage the contractor to propose worthwhile VACPs, the owner and the contractor share the resultant savings when permitted by contract.

The number and timing of VA studies varies for every project. The owner/user/stakeholder, the design professional, and the value analyst determine the best approach jointly. A complex or expensive facility, or a design that will be used repeatedly, warrants a minimum of two VA studies, performed at the predesign and design development stages.