Nowadays, it is a great challenge to understand what models shall be used to iteratively translate customer desires into terms that are meaningful for engineering design decision-making. This paper proposes a framework illustrating the iterative evolution of model-based enablers for value during conceptual system design. The framework is developed from the analysis of four case studies in the Swedish manufacturing industry. The paper discusses the learning from the cross-case study, and elaborates on how value models may complement existing Systems Engineering practices.