Part II. Optimizing the design: How and when to make tradeoffs: Aircraft must be lighter, consumer products more functional implantable devices more reliable — But at what cost?

Designers seeking an optimal product would do well to keep in mind William Strunk's dictum on writing in The Elements of Style: omit needless words. In the same vein, any component that is not needed (or is more capable than necessary) generally costs more to buy, adds weight, occupies extra space, takes more time to assemble, increases the chance of failure, and costs more to maintain. Optimal designs do not have such parts.