SAVE International CVS - Certified Value Specialist

The correct answer is D. Recognition of VM study contributors . The Presentation Phase is intended to communicate the developed VM recommendations to decision makers in a way that supports approval, concurrence, and movement toward implementation. SAVE’s Value Methodology Standard states that the team leader develops a report and/or presentation that documents the adequacy of the developed alternatives and the associated value improvement opportunity.

Therefore, recommended proposals are central to the presentation. The VM study scope and goals are also appropriate because decision makers need to understand the boundaries, objectives, assumptions, and basis of the study. Expected implementation decisions are also relevant because the presentation should help management determine whether alternatives should proceed, require more information, or be rejected. The Presentation Phase is specifically tied to obtaining concurrence and commitment to proceed with implementation recommendations.

Recognition of contributors may be professionally courteous and can appear in a report appendix, closing remarks, or acknowledgments section, but it is not essential technical content for decision making. Compared with scope, goals, recommendations, and implementation decisions, it is the least appropriate core information for the VM presentation.

References/topics: Presentation Phase; VM Report; Recommended Proposals; Implementation Commitment; Decision-Maker Communication.

The correct answers are B and D . A risk register is used to document, organize, and evaluate risks so that the VM team can understand how uncertainty may affect proposed alternatives. The two essential risk-register elements shown in the choices are probability of occurrence and impact on the scope . Probability identifies how likely the risk is to happen. Impact identifies what the consequence will be if the risk occurs, including possible effects on scope, cost, schedule, quality, performance, implementation, or stakeholder acceptance.

In the VM Job Plan, risk thinking becomes especially important when ideas move from creativity into evaluation and development. At that point, alternatives are no longer just possibilities; they must be tested for feasibility, consequences, and implementation exposure. A risk with high probability and high impact demands more attention than one with low probability and minor impact.

Option A, performance criteria , is related to evaluation criteria, not a core risk-register field. Option C, function of the risk , is not a standard risk-register element. Functions belong to Function Analysis and are normally expressed in verb-noun format, while risks are documented as uncertain events or conditions.

References/topics: Evaluation Phase; Development Phase; Risk Register; Risk Probability; Risk Impact; VM Proposal Screening.

The correct answer is B . A VM program’s standard operating procedures should define how candidate subjects or projects are identified, screened, selected, prioritized, and authorized for VM studies. This belongs to VM program governance because limited VM resources must be applied to subjects with appropriate scope, timing, information availability, organizational importance, and value-improvement potential. SAVE’s Value Standard states that the standard assists managers and value program managers in applying VM within organizations in a consistent manner, and also guides practitioners and managers in determining when to apply VM to a project to maximize innovation and implementation benefits. ( wsdot.wa.gov )

Option A is too rigid. SAVE recognizes multidisciplinary teams of experienced professionals and stakeholders; people outside the project may be added for perspective, but every team member is not required to be independent from the development team. ( wsdot.wa.gov ) Option C is incorrect because functions are not pre-listed generically; they are identified specifically for the study subject during Function Analysis. Option D is also incorrect because creativity should encourage broad idea generation, but the SOP should not prescribe a fixed number of ideas as a universal requirement. VM procedures should standardize the management process, not force artificial technical outputs.

References/topics: VM Programs; Program SOPs; Study Subject Identification; Value Program Management; Study Selection Criteria.

The correct answers are B and C . A VM facilitator encourages innovation by moving the team beyond existing assumptions, current habits, and normal organizational boundaries. In the Creativity Phase, SAVE-oriented VM guidance emphasizes generating ideas for all possible ways to accomplish the required functions, rather than defending the existing solution. ( Value Engineering ) The facilitator therefore supports future-focused thinking, where the team imagines an ideal condition and considers long-term potential before judging feasibility. This is consistent with VM practice because creativity must be allowed to expand before evaluation, cost review, or technical screening begins.

Option C is also correct because innovation often comes from cross-disciplinary transfer. Borrowing ideas from other industries, technologies, processes, or disciplines helps the team discover alternative ways to perform the required function. The Creative Phase is specifically described as being unconstrained by habit, tradition, negative attitudes, assumed restrictions, and specific criteria. ( UW Courses )

Option A is incorrect because simply maintaining current systems preserves the baseline and limits breakthrough thinking. Option D is incorrect because avoiding combinations and testing prevents idea development and blocks innovation.

References/topics: VM Facilitation; Team Dynamics; Creativity Phase; Innovation; Divergent Thinking; Long-Term Value Potential.

The correct answer is D. To prioritize functions . The Function Analysis Phase includes several important activities: identifying functions, defining them in active verb/measurable noun form, classifying them as basic or secondary, organizing their relationships, and relating cost or worth where required. However, these activities are not the final purpose by themselves. Their purpose is to determine which functions deserve the team’s focused attention for value improvement.

SAVE’s Value Methodology guidance explains that during Function Analysis, the team defines project functions and reviews them to determine which need improvement, elimination, or creation to meet study goals. ( WSDOT ) The Study Guide also states that functions performed inefficiently or at more than expected cost become the focus of the VM team’s improvement effort. ( ) This means the ultimate output is a prioritized understanding of where value improvement opportunities exist.

Option A may occur in advanced function-cost analysis, but it is not the ultimate objective. Options B and C are necessary intermediate steps, but they support the larger goal of prioritizing functions for creativity, evaluation, and development.

References/topics: Function Analysis Phase; Function Definition; Function Classification; Function Organization; Function Prioritization; Value Improvement Opportunities.