A product is composed of not only the basic components, subsystems and accessories, but also of what I call the fuzzy, interactive product mentors. These are Product Market, Product Utilization, Business Model, 3rd Party Encumbrances, Infrastructure and, yes... even Spirituality - as it pertains to the vision and passion of a few of those who develop, sell, support, finance and buy the product.

These product mentors can significantly interact with each other in ways that affect the product specification, concept, user acceptance, support, lifetime and cost quite differently than the product designer might anticipate from each component by itself. Product Development from 30,000 feet (or from the top of the mountain or from a holism point-of-view) can help gain insight into those areas where you have less or no control. It can help you discover those pertinent issues you may not have considered; this is especially advantageous in the early stages of product development.

A recent article from the Wharton School (U. of Penn.) recently raised a similar issue for considering the whole vs. part for businesses in general:

"It's one of the oldest, most fundamental ideas in management theory: that executives should understand how the many distinct functional components of a firm -- production, distribution, product mix, human resources -- interrelate to achieve the proper fit."

"…two members of Wharton's management department, Daniel A. Levinthal and Nicolaj Siggelkow, say it is time to resurrect the idea of addressing the part-whole relationship of the firm. Without this systemic way of looking at companies, the researchers say, firms run the risk of engaging in compartmentalized thinking that can lead to the adoption of practices that are a poor fit and work to the firms' disadvantage."¹

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¹ http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=printArticle&ID=1480