In spite of the increasing importance placed on the creation and delivery of value, it is unclear what value is and how it is determined in design. In this paper, the first descriptive model of value determination (ValueD) is presented to clarify the key elements and mechanisms involved. ValueD describes value determination as a cognitive process that is situated and dependent on an agent’s knowledge. The variables involved are: an entity interpreted by an agent; a situation of an agent; knowledge of an agent; a criteria prioritisation activity; a criteria selection activity; and a criteria judgement activity. The output of the value determination process is a value statement. Value is shown to refer to a judgement on the extent an interpreted entity satisfies an agent’s criteria. The ValueD model is evaluated through comparison against seven axioms of value and a protocol analysis of an engineering design episode. The article concludes with a discussion of strengths, limitations, and future work on ValueD, and its relationship with key value concepts such as added value, exchange and perceived value, benefit, and need.

尽管价值的创造和交付越来越重要，但尚不清楚价值是什么以及它是如何在设计中确定的。在本文中，提出了第一个价值确定描述模型（ValueD），以阐明所涉及的关键要素和机制。ValueD 将价值确定描述为一个认知过程，它位于并依赖于代理的知识。涉及的变量是： 由代理解释的实体；代理人情况；代理人的知识；一项标准优先活动；一项标准选择活动；和标准判断活动。价值确定过程的输出是价值陈述。显示的价值是指对解释实体满足代理标准的程度的判断. ValueD 模型是通过与七个价值公理的比较和工程设计事件的协议分析来评估的。文章最后讨论了 ValueD 的优势、局限性和未来工作，以及它与关键价值概念（如附加值、交换和感知价值、利益和需求）的关系。