Parameters of a re-configurable product include price and date when
product will be available to a requesting party. Availability and or
price parameters are integrated or extended into the configuration
process of selecting product features to gain a higher level of customer
service and satisfaction. The availability and or price parameters can be
constrained, and can also be optimized with respect to other constraints.
By defining a range of satisfaction that various parameters and product
features can operate in, a customer can focus the configuration process
on other parameters that are deemed critical. Optimizing focus parameters
such as availability and or price with respect to all other parameters
constitutes an extended product configuration technique. A dynamic BOM
generated by this technique reflects all consumer dictated constraints,
including any constraints on price and or availability.