Advancing value management to ensure 'value for money' in large and complex construction projects
image: The proposed framework illustrates the current progress of value management, including task identification, decision-support solutions, and performance measurement, alongside future directions focusing on sustainability, technological innovation, and stakeholder collaboration.
Credit: The Authors. Civil Engineering Sciences
Large and complex construction projects (LCCPs) have far-reaching impacts on society and the environment, typically involving immense investments and extended lifespans. Ensuring "value for money"—an assessment of whether the benefits or quality received justify the associated costs—in such projects is crucial, although fraught with difficulties.
Researchers Prof. Geoffrey Qiping Shen from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Dr. Jin Xue from the University of Sydney conducted a systematic literature review to comprehensively map the evolution of value management studies in LCCPs. The team published their findings in Civil Engineering Sciences on September 4, 2025.
"Value management in these contexts is more challenging than in traditional construction projects, as stakeholders frequently hold conflicting interests and expectations, complicating both decision-making and communication throughout the project," said Dr. Jin Xue, lecturer in the School of Project Management at the University of Sydney. "Conventional value management approaches must evolve to provide advanced solutions in identification, decision-making, measurement, and communication," he further pointed out.
Through an analysis of 165 peer-reviewed publications, the researchers identified four principal knowledge domains currently underpinning the field. These include the systematic identification of client requirements, the use of group decision support systems (GDSSs), the measurement of value management processes and outcomes, and the development of computer-aided toolkits for virtual workshops.
To address the tight schedules and communication barriers inherent in LCCPs, the review highlights that the integration of advanced technologies, such as interactive value management systems (IVMS) and online virtual workshops, has proven highly effective in facilitating remote stakeholder collaboration and idea generation.
Looking ahead, the study outlines three vital future research directions to advance the field: sustainable design and development, innovative integrated solutions, and the management of multiple stakeholders.
"The rapid digital transformation of the construction industry presents new opportunities for the advancement of value management techniques," the authors noted. "Value management approaches are awaiting integration with innovative technologies, including building information modeling, virtual reality, and the metaverse, in LCCPs," they explained.
Ultimately, the study presents a comprehensive framework that systematically illustrates the knowledge structures of value management research. This framework is designed to support industry practitioners in implementing value management to optimize the realization of client requirements by balancing project benefits and costs.
This research is fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (project no. PolyU/RGC PolyU 15225822).