Extensibility {#9} influences:

• Design, architecture, customization
• All testing
• Corporate portfolio optimization
• Product validation
• End-of-Life requirements and procedures
• User evaluation, good will, product performance

For example, if the producer and user know that a product can be extended to create a larger system, which the user desires, then the product has more potential value.

There are thousands of anecdotal accounts that can be cited regarding the (good and bad) influences that product design attributes have on product cost drivers, and they would vary from industry to industry.  The point being made herein is that, as you can readily see, considerations for minimizing and/or reducing costs during product development is not a ‘slam-dunk, silver bullet' methodology.  It's an involved process of investigation, questioning, information collecting, analyzing, planning and designing.  Let's call this broad activity PDue-diligence.

So... what does the product developer need in order to administer PDue-diligence?