Posted on 19-12-2009 at 10:00
One of the fundamental elements of value management is about identifying risk and putting measures in place to mitigate that risk.
Value Management is a management tool that looks at value from the customers point of view and identifies what it is in a product, service or process that a customer values.
Value Management provides a framework that can be used to identify value, identify risk or value destroying potential and finally identify and prioritise risk mitigation measures.
If we take the various news items this week it is very obvious that Value Management techniques have not been applied. I list them here without comment but just as examples of how short sighted and superficial even the most complex project management tools are when compared to Value Management.
With its focus on what things do, rather on what things are, a good Value Management study would have avoided the situations described below. A Value Management study can be used for a pedestrian crossing the road, building the road, destroying a road or maintaining it. This flexibility makes Value Management and incredibly powerful tool.
The following is a non exhaustive list of items in the news that could have benefitted from a Value Management and risk management study
· Traffic chaos for what has been for some a sprinkling of snow.
· The Channel tunnel closed, thousands trapped on board
· Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attacked
· Hundreds trapped at Heathrow airport
· Bus stolen in Wakefield and taken on a rampage (Last August but reported this week)
· 1,000 lose their jobs at Borders book store
· Hundreds of trains delayed because of the weather
· Twitter hacked
· Toys R Us accountant jailed for fraud
· My next doors dog escaped via a hole in the fence. Ok. not on the news, but a Value Management study would have prevented it! What did they value more, the family pet that they adore, or a new fence post costing less than £20.
