Planning for, Facilitating & Evaluating Design Effectiveness

The DE evaluation process involves the vital step of measurement; reliable measurement provides the data needed to assess the effectiveness of design relative to project value objectives (PVO). In turn, this assessment helps provide feedback to design teams and project leaders, and, if needed, can lead to constructive adjustments to design efforts.

A project team may wish to use evaluation criteria based on project value objectives as a way to gain alignment on more specific performance oriented design objectives. Alternatively, interim DE assessments may be desired during the design effort and prior to design completion in order to provide an opportunity to affect mid-course corrections. Long-term performance benchmarking and application of incentives provide two more reasons for pursuing formal design effectiveness. Thus it is clear that Design Effectiveness may be evaluated from the perspective of the owner, the designer, the construction team, or any combination of these parties. (RS233-1, p. 6)

The evaluation of design effectiveness is driven by 4 different motives:

• Stakeholder alignment on design objectives
• Continuous improvement
• Metric for benchmarking
• Basis for incentives

This model is developed to provide guidance to organizations on how to set up and administer a MEV/DE program within both a company and a project team. The model promotes efficient MEV/DE strategies and tools for both project and organization wide continuous improvement efforts. Design effectiveness is a collection of subcomponents within the larger MEV/DE process. Key components/steps of DE within this model include: (RS233-1, p. 7)

• Prioritize project value objectives and DE objectives
• Plan for DE evaluation
• Evaluate DE performance
• Make use of DE evaluation
• Identify strategy implementation lessons
• Ensure impact of MEV/DE efforts

The DE evaluation approach is driven by these 11 Project Value Objectives (PVO). Thirty effective design practices are identified in support of these 11 PVOs. (RS233-1, p. 11)

• Security
• Operations and Maintenance Safety
• Construction Safety
• Regulatory and Standards Compliance
• Capital Cost Reduction
• Operations and Maintenance Efficiency
• Product/Plant/Service Quality
• Design and Construction Quality
• Schedule Reduction
• Environmental Stewardship
• Flexibility for Future Use

Multiple, optional sub-criteria under each PVO category constitute the detailed attributes by which design performance is evaluated. The sub criteria are specific characteristics that together with measurement scales constitute the DE evaluation tool.

RR233-11, Design Effectiveness Evaluation Tool

An automated tool created to assist in the evaluation of design effectiveness in the context of capital facility projects. The purpose of this tool is to provide guidance in assessing how well a project is meeting desired objectives and criteria for design effectiveness. This tool computes a design effectiveness performance score based on these 5 project inputs: (RR233-11, p. 79)

• Timing of DE evaluation
• Relative importance of 11 different PVOs
• Selected or screened sub-criteria associated with each PVO
• Assessments of individual sub-criteria
• Significance weightings of evaluation sub-criteria associated with targeted PVO