This course was developed under the auspices of the Lawrence D. Miles Value Foundation, a non-profit educational and research group for value methodology.

The Board of Directors of the Miles Value Foundation is formed from distinguished members of SAVE International and leading government and business executives dedicated to reducing cost by improving value.

For additional information, visit the Miles Value Foundation web site by clicking on the last index to the left.

You have embarked on the path to learn how to analyze value. You will find it very helpful in your work and in your life in general.

I have used it at work on construction design, processing paperwork, establishing procedures and regulations, purchasing supplies, conducting organizational studies, and finding the best way to accomplish performance objectives. I have used it at home in planning better vacations, purchasing furniture, shopping at the grocery, and investing in antiques.

Discover the secret of why it applies to everything.

But as you begin, recognize that an on-line course has one basic shortcoming. It lacks the interface and interaction with other class members that contributes to the learning experience.

However, this shortcoming can become an advantage if it makes you diligently persevere, read and study the material thoroughly, and search out vital knowledge.

All these things are characteristics and traits of a successful value analyst!

Donald E. Parker, PE, CCE, CVS, FSAVE
Author

The major course objective is to develop an awareness that a specific technique exists for improving the value of anything. After completing the course, you should be better able to:

• Recognize poor value or test products and services to see if value improvement potential exists.
  
  
• Approach any product or service, not necessarily within you area of expertise, and use the value analysis job plan to study it.
  
  
• Understand the concept of value and the practice of value analysis.
  
  
• Participate in a 40-hour value analysis workshop at a later date which studies a real "live" project.

The only text for this course is, Value Analysis (Second Revised Edition), Carlos Fallon, © 1980, reprinted 1984, 1986, Lawrence D. Miles Value Foundation, Washington, D.C.

First read the introduction to the lesson and the objective for the lesson.

Next, read the assigned text for the lesson quickly to obtain an overall understanding.

Now play the Power Point slides and hear the narration.

Then go back and read the text for a second time. This time, study the text carefully for comprehension and understanding.

Do the homework assignment next. Read the homework objective carefully. Homework is intended to broaden, supplement and reinforce your understanding of the text.

And last, complete the quiz for the lesson. The questions for each quiz will cover the limited span of just the previously assigned reading and homework. Study the text carefully for clues to the questions. Quiz questions are not tricky but they are exact and precise to test your understanding of the material and your ability to relate other facts to what you have read.

Each lesson:

Complete each lesson, one at a time, and mail (or E-mail) the homework and quiz answers to your Course Administrator. These two items must be submitted together for each lesson.

You may begin the next lesson but do not send it in until you have received your score and answers to the preceding lesson.

Midterm examination:

Stop after you have completed Lesson 5. With the return of scores for Lesson 5 you will receive access to the midterm examination.

Study the work for the first 5 lessons. Understand the answers to the questions you missed.

Then complete the midterm examination and send it in.

After receiving your midterm score, continue the course with Lessons 6-10, one at a time.

Final examination:

At the completion of Lesson 10, you will receive access to the final examination.

Completion certificate:

After satisfactory completion of all work, you will receive a signed certificate of completion by e-mail. Print it out in color for framing.

Course length:

The minimum length of this course is 12 weeks. This provides one week for the completion of each lesson, midterm and final examination.

The maximum length of time permitted for completion of this course is one year.

Lesson time:

Each lesson is designed to require approximately 4 hours of work as follows:

reading and study	1 ½ hours
homework	2 hours
quiz	½ hour

Grading:

Credit for successful completion of this course will be on a pass or fail basis. A composite grade average of 70% or more is required to pass.

Participants must complete all ten lessons and the two examinations to be eligible for passing this course.

The weighting (points) for grading is:

quizzes	10 at 100 = 1,000
homework	10 at 100 = 1,000
exams	2 at 500 = 1,000
total points possible	3,000
points needed to pass	2,100

The homework and quizzes from each lesson and the mid-term and final examinations are routed directly to a Course Administrator who has been assigned by the Miles Value Foundation to grade all work. Several of the lessons and tests have forms that need to be downloaded and completed as part of the assignment. After completion, these forms too need to be sent to the Course Administrator by e-mail. Use the Course Administrator contact hot link to the left to attach these separate submittals to the Course Administrator.