Starting with a low cost/low complexity design alternatives in large engineering programs and then systematically raising the cost and complexity , where warranted, is a far better approach than starting with higher cost design complex designs and later doing cost down and simplification activities. I have worked on many product teams where the latter was the norm. Subsystem teams would select costly more complex technologies, more costly high precision components and assemblies, costly manufacturing and control systems, all in an effort to get a jump start on functional performance and time to market requirements. Early demonstration of performance, even though the costs were over allocations, were considered perfectly fine, as long as everyone tacitly understood that there …
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