[BrianBSL]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

I beg to differ. That's the basic essence of consumerism. The basic essence of engineering is add more features and who cares about cost.

The project manager (not the engineers) keep it in check as to how much it will cost in the long run, and if you have to sacrifice features, then marketing plays up the ones you have.

If I designed everything with no regard for cost, and just let the project manager shoot it down...I wouldn't have a job anymore. They honestly don't have time to deal with cutting unnecessary costs and expect you to make reasonable compromises, and only defer the large functionality changes to them. At least where I work, thats the way it is.