Which of the following are typically documented on an Implementation Form?
Choose 3 answers.
Answer : B, D, E
The correct answers are B, D, and E. An Implementation Form is used after VM proposals have been developed, presented, reviewed, and moved into disposition or execution tracking. Its purpose is to identify each accepted or pending value alternative clearly enough that management, the project team, and follow-up reviewers can track what proposal is being implemented, who developed or owns it, and how it will be handled.
The SAVE International Study Guide describes Implementation Activities as ensuring accepted value alternatives are implemented and that projected benefits are realized. It further identifies activities such as conducting an implementation meeting, determining the disposition of each value alternative, establishing action plans, obtaining commitments, setting timeframes, tracking value achievement, and validating benefits. ()
Therefore, an implementation form normally requires traceable proposal identifiers: the VM proposal number, the title of the VM proposal, and the developer or originator/responsible party. These fields allow each proposal to be tracked from study recommendation through acceptance, rejection, modification, and completion. A creative idea list belongs to the Creativity Phase record, not implementation tracking. Risk impacts may support development or recommendation documentation, but they are not as fundamental as proposal identity and responsibility fields on the implementation form.
Reference/topics: Implementation Phase; VM Proposal Tracking; Action Plans; Follow-Up; Value Study Recommendation Documentation.
The project team expresses uncertainty about how their tasks align with the overall objectives of the VM Job Plan. What steps should the VM facilitator take to enhance understanding of the VM Job Plan?
Choose 2 answers.
Answer : A, B
The correct answers are A and B. The issue in the scenario is not lack of a deadline; it is lack of shared understanding of how individual responsibilities support the VM Job Plan. SAVE describes Value Methodology as a multidisciplinary team process used to improve project value through function analysis, and the VM Standard requires the Value Study Team to include experienced professionals and project stakeholders selected for their expertise and project experience. Therefore, pairing project and VM team members for deeper role discussion is appropriate because it builds cross-functional understanding, clarifies responsibilities, and improves team integration.
Option B is also correct because the facilitator should actively guide discussion so team members understand how their tasks contribute to the structured Job Plan. SAVE's Study Guide states that the Job Plan supports team synergy within a structured process rather than a collection of individual opinions, and each phase provides information and understanding needed for the next phase. SAVE's glossary also defines a facilitator as a substantively neutral person who enables the group to improve problem solving, decision making, and effectiveness while leading the group through the VM Job Plan.
Option C is weaker because a low-interaction lecture does not address uncertainty effectively. Option D manages schedule compliance, not understanding or alignment.
Reference/topics: VM Facilitation; Team Dynamics; VM Job Plan; Multidisciplinary Team; Facilitator Role.
Other than the creative ideas list and evaluation scores, which of the following information should be included in a value study report?
Answer : C
The correct answer is C. Recommended alternatives, list of information reviewed, and function analysis. A value study report must document the technical basis of the VM study and provide management with enough objective information to make implementation decisions. The Presentation Phase requires the VM team to prepare presentation/supporting documentation, compare conclusions to success requirements from the Information and Function Analysis Phases, ensure management has full objective information, and prepare a formal report. ()
Recommended alternatives belong in the report because the Development Phase converts selected ideas into clearly written value alternatives, supported by assumptions, sketches, calculations, cost comparisons, and implementation considerations. () A list of information reviewed is also appropriate because the Information Phase gathers project data, key documents, cost data, quality data, marketing information, process flow charts, and other baseline material. () Function analysis is essential because it records the functional basis of the study, including identified functions, function models, cost drivers, performance attributes, and value-mismatched functions. ()
Option A is administrative and incomplete. Option B includes a stakeholder survey, which is not a standard core report element. Option D is weakened by ''VM presentation,'' because the presentation is separate from the report deliverable.
Reference/topics: Presentation Phase; Value Study Report; Information Phase; Function Analysis Phase; Development Phase; Recommended Alternatives.
A VM Facilitator has been asked to propose ways to reduce the value study time commitment of client VM team members who have specialized knowledge required for the study. What should the VM Facilitator propose to best reduce the time commitments of the specialists?
Answer : A
The correct answer is A because the specialists described in the question are not casual reviewers or occasional outside advisers; they are VM team members whose specialized knowledge is required for the study. The CVS logic is that essential team members should remain engaged through the full Job Plan so that information, function thinking, creativity, evaluation, development, and presentation remain connected. The SAVE Study Guide identifies technical champions as team members selected for technical expertise and states that value team members are expected to ''participate in all meetings,'' gather and analyze information, identify functions, contribute ideas, and evaluate ideas using their experience and expertise. ()
Options B, C, and D incorrectly isolate specialist participation to one phase. That weakens team continuity and can cause poor assumptions, missed functions, unrealistic ideas, or weak evaluation. The facilitator may manage time efficiently through preparation, agenda control, and disciplined facilitation, but should not remove required specialists from the VM Job Plan phases. The Study Guide also emphasizes keeping team members together whenever possible to maintain continuity. ()
Reference/topics: VM Facilitation; Team Dynamics; Technical Champions; Value Team Member Responsibilities; Job Plan Discipline.
Which of the following activities should a VM Facilitator recommend decision-makers conduct prior to the disposition of VM proposals?
Answer : D
The correct answer is D. Review VM proposals. Prior to the formal disposition of VM proposals, decision-makers must first understand what has been recommended, why each proposal was developed, what value improvement is expected, and what effects the proposal may have on cost, performance, quality, schedule, and risk. SAVE's VM Standard Reference describes the Implementation Phase as the point where the sponsoring organization reviews the results of the VM study and decides which VM proposals to implement. ()
This sequence is important. Review comes before disposition. Disposition means determining whether each VM proposal is accepted, rejected, deferred, modified, or requires additional study. The SAVE Study Guide also identifies common implementation activities as reviewing the preliminary report and then conducting an implementation meeting to determine the disposition of each value alternative. ()
Option A occurs after proposals are accepted, because the implementation plan is developed for approved actions. Option B may occur only when information is incomplete, but it is not the normal decision-maker activity before disposition. Option C is essentially the disposition activity itself, not the step before it.
Reference/topics: Implementation Phase; VM Proposal Review; Preliminary Report; Disposition of Value Alternatives; Implementation Planning.
Which type of cost is calculated for study items by multiplying the unit cost by the number of units produced per year?
Answer : D
The correct answer is D. Annualized costs. In VM cost analysis, when a study item has a known unit cost and a known annual production quantity, multiplying the two gives the cost impact over one year. That makes the result an annualized cost, because the calculation converts a per-unit value into a yearly cost basis.
This distinction is important in manufacturing or repetitive-process VM studies. A component may appear inexpensive on a unit basis, but if it is used thousands or millions of times per year, its annualized cost may become a major value-improvement target. SAVE's VM Glossary defines cost as the monetary valuation of resources consumed in the production or delivery of a project, product, or process, and it also recognizes annualized cost as a cost expression used in life-cycle cost measurement. ()
Option A, total costs, is too broad because it may include many cost categories and periods. Option B, life-cycle costs, covers acquisition, operation, maintenance, replacement, and disposal over time. Option C, incremental unit costs, concerns the cost of an additional unit, not annual volume impact.
Reference/topics: Information Phase; Cost Data; Cost Modeling; Annualized Costs; Manufacturing Study Items.
On the function logic path in a FAST diagram.
Choose 3 answers.
Answer : A, C, E
The correct answers are A, C, and E. In the Function Analysis Phase, FAST diagramming organizes functions by How-Why logic, not by chronological sequence. SAVE's course structure places FAST Diagrams, How-Why and When Logic, and FAST Diagram Structure directly under the Function Analysis Phase, confirming that this is a core function-modeling competency. (SAVE International Online Courses)
On the logic path, moving left to right answers the question, ''How is this function achieved?'' Therefore, the function on the right represents the approach, means, or method used to perform the function on the left. Conversely, moving right to left answers ''Why is this function performed?'' Therefore, the function on the left expresses the goal, purpose, or higher-order reason for the function on the right. FAST guidance also states that higher-order functions are toward the left, while lower-order functions describing how they are accomplished are toward the right. (Value Analysis)
A change to a function or method on the critical logic path affects the functions dependent on it, which are located to its right. ()
Reference/topics: Function Analysis Phase; FAST Diagramming; How-Why Logic; Critical Path Functions.