Performance and Cost

you can probably, with effort, produce a good configuration.

Form an image in your mind of the BMW's driver; see her taking the curves on the winding Angeles Crest Highway.  Look at her face and imagine sensing her pleasure or displeasure with the automobile.  Now, begin to vary the design.  Make the car bigger, quieter, a bit less responsive but more powerful, heavier.  Now, lighter, quicker, more responsive.  To do so, you have to change the chassis, the engine weight and torque, the suspension, the steering assembly, and more.  It will sway less and hug the road; the steering wheel will provide more tactile feedback.  Now adjust the chassis: make it stiffer to dampen longitudinal twists and soften the front suspension just a bit to reduce road shock.  Varying forty or fifty parameters, you will eventually find a sweet spot, where everything works together.  She will smile and like her car.

But there is more.  Her driving pleasure depends upon the price paid, so we begin to include cost in our design.  We concentrate on her smile per dollar.  Many more interactions must be considered to find the sweet spot that gives the largest smile per dollar.  You cannot search the entire space of possibilities; it is too complex.  But you can probably, with effort, produce a good configuration.  To get more sophisticated, you should also include the pleasure the driver takes in buying a premium brand, backed up by image advertising and swank dealers.  You should also consider her buying experience and the car's expected reliability and resale value.  More design elements to adjust, more interactions to consider.  And then, of course, you should consider other drivers with other tastes and incomes, a huge step upward in complexity and interaction.

ACTION POINT:  Expand your view of the interactions and complexity required for effective design.