ABSTRACT
At times design teams presented with conflicting requirements relative to cost. On the one hand, as innovators, they cannot limit themselves purely on the basis of cost; and, on the other hand, a product needs to be within a given cost bracket to meet market needs. An added complication is that cost and pricing—and finance, in general—is not part of any engineering or scientific academic curriculum. In this chapter, an overview of product cost and its relationship to price and revenue along with customer perception is provided. Followed by discussion of the timing of when and where cost factors should be considered within the product development cycle and the V-Model and how the design and manufacturing team may manage this requirement.
