The Æilus Methodology is grounded in a small set of principles. They are not “best practices” and not recommendations in isolation. They are methodological constraints that prevent destructive interventions and keep value work coherent over time.
In Æilus, principles serve three purposes:
- Observability - value cannot be managed if it is not visible.
- Consistency - interpretations must be synchronized to avoid systemic distortion.
- Stability - improvement must not violate participation conditions or break the system.
Alignment with VMT
Æilus principles are derived from Value Management Theory (VMT) and therefore inherit the core constraints of value systems: value is interpreted (not absolute), value types may be partially commensurable, and interpretation can be influenced without being confirmed by real-world consequences.
As a result, “increasing value” in Æilus is never a generic instruction. It must be understood as improving value dynamics under a defined aggregation policy, while keeping interpretation stable through consequence-based confirmation.
P1. Observability of value and anti-value elements
Significant value and anti-value elements must be identified, measurable, and tracked throughout the lifecycle of the value system.
P2. Alignment of value interpretations
Interpretations of planned, realized, and retrospective value must be regularly compared and updated to reduce distortion in value flows.
Interpretation confirmation requirement
Interpretation alignment is admissible only when it can be confirmed through the observable consequences of value realization. If interpretation changes are driven primarily by external influence (e.g., persuasion, branding, social pressure) without consequence-based confirmation, the system accumulates interpretation gaps and increases flow resistance.
P3. Updating demand for value elements
Demand for the quantity and types of value elements must be regularly reassessed according to current interpretations and participation conditions of actors.
P4. Sustainability and participation conditions
Actor participation conditions, risks, and dependencies on external flows must be continuously analyzed and reflected in the value system design to maintain sustainability under change.
P5. Throughput over accumulation
A value system should maintain high flow throughput and minimize accumulation of elements inside transformers, except when accumulation is an explicit and justified decision.
Storing planned value is allowed only as a deliberate management choice and requires regular re-evaluation of interpretation before the value is sent into a flow.
P6. Reduction of flow resistance
Interventions must be aimed at reducing flow resistance by decreasing anti-value and narrowing the gap between planned and realized value.
P7. Efficiency of value production
When producing value elements, transformers should prefer practices that increase realized value under the same or lower amount of consumed value.
P8. System-level priority of practices
Practice selection should prioritize improving the capability of the transformer and the value system as a whole, rather than locally optimizing individual process fragments.
P9. Justified growth of planned value
Increasing planned value is mandatory when all of the following conditions are met:
- there is a confirmed demand for increased value within the system,
- the transformer has sufficient inflow of value to produce it,
- the ability to deliver the corresponding realized value is confirmed,
- participation conditions are not violated,
- system sustainability is not compromised.
Aggregation policy and partial commensurability
Planned value growth must be evaluated under an explicit value aggregation policy. In systems where value types are only partially commensurable, increasing one dimension of value can degrade another. Therefore, growth decisions must state the aggregation assumptions and trade-off rules used to justify the change.
P10. Integrity of value interpretations
Interpretations of planned and realized value must be formed in good faith, without intentional distortion for local advantage, and must remain verifiable within the value system.
Integrity of interpretation does not require alignment of evaluations. Actors may legitimately disagree in their assessments of value.
However, integrity requires that:
- criteria used for interpreting value are explicit;
- interpretations can be discussed and challenged;
- realized value can be validated by the receiving actor;
- systematic inflation of planned value or deflation of realized value is treated as a methodological violation.
This principle protects the value system from strategic manipulation of interpretations that may not immediately violate participation conditions, but inevitably increase resistance, anti-value, and systemic fragility over time.
How to use these principles
Principles are not intended to be “implemented once.” They are used as ongoing evaluation criteria for:
- choosing roles and ownership models,
- selecting and combining practices,
- designing reports and review events,
- deciding when to increase planned value,
- detecting hidden anti-value and systemic resistance.
In other words, principles define how Æilus remains coherent while the system evolves.
Next: Roles - assigning responsibility for value production, delivery, and system sustainability.