01 · Target Value Delivery (TVD)
Target Value Delivery designs the project starting from the expected value and a target cost, instead of discovering the budget once design is frozen. Cost, value, and performance become design parameters from the outset.
Teams design toward the target through collaborative iterations, rather than estimate and then correct after the fact. Most overruns are decided here, upstream.
02 · Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
Integrated Project Delivery aligns the interests, contracts, and governance of stakeholders around overall project success: early collaboration, transparency, shared risks and gains.
IPD creates the contractual and behavioral framework that makes cooperation possible — where traditional contracts push each party to defend its scope.
03 · IPD without LPD or TVD: why it's not enough
IPD greatly improves alignment, but it is not sufficient on its own. Without an operating system to steer design and flows (LPD / Last Planner) and without a method to design to value (TVD), contractual alignment remains theoretical.
The three reinforce each other: IPD for the framework, LPD for execution, TVD for value. In isolation, they rarely deliver on their promise.
Read the full article: Why IPD without LPD or TVD is not enough →
04 · Lean Engineering: applying Lean to design
Lean Engineering applies Lean to design and engineering activities: design is also a production system that generates waits, rework, and overproduction of information.
Streamlining information flow, making deliverables reliable, and deciding at the right time reduces rework loops that weigh heavily on time and cost.
05 · Set-Based Design: explore before locking in
Set-Based Design explores multiple solutions in parallel and progressively narrows choices, instead of locking in one option too early and then constantly correcting it.
Keeping options open long enough reduces the risk of major rework and improves the robustness of design decisions.
06 · Target cost, carbon & performance: a different trade-off
Long judged on upfront capex alone, projects benefit from integrating value, lifecycle cost, and carbon as joint decision criteria.
Designing to value enables different arbitrages: higher initial investment can be justified by far better performance and footprint over time.
Read the full article: Target cost, carbon and performance →
07 · Indicators to track
Designing to value is steered with indicators focused on value and lifecycle cost, not just progress:
- Variance to target cost throughout design
- Value delivered vs target value
- Rework loops and number of design iterations
- Decisions made at the right time (vs late decisions)
- Constructability — issues detected in design rather than on site
- Lifecycle cost and carbon footprint projected over the life cycle
08 · Frequently asked questions
How is TVD different from a traditional estimate?
A traditional estimate prices a design already done. TVD first sets a target value and a target cost, then designs to achieve them — cost becomes a design parameter, not a finding.
Do you need an IPD contract to do TVD?
No, but IPD makes TVD much easier by aligning interests. Without a collaborative framework, designing to value is possible but harder to sustain.
Doesn't Set-Based Design waste time?
On the contrary: exploring several options in parallel avoids costly rework from locking in a choice too early. You “spend” a bit upfront to gain a lot downstream.
Does Lean Engineering apply beyond construction?
Yes. Any activity that designs or produces information (engineering, R&D, studies) is a production system where Lean principles cut waits and rework.
Do we have to choose between cost and carbon performance?
Not necessarily. By reasoning in lifecycle value and cost, performance and carbon reduction often become convergent rather than opposing trade-offs.
Go deeper
Dive into each topic of this pillar in the Hub’s dedicated articles:
Target Value Delivery
Design to value and target cost.
IPD
Align contract, behaviors, and performance.
Lean Construction
The project's operating system: LPD, Last Planner.
Lean & Green Performance
Performance and sustainability considered together.
An offer to take action
Designing to value is led from the earliest project phases, with the right people at the table.
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