Pick any system: what is the real cost?

The realities of a system\´s development process are described by the cliche: "Pay me now or pay me later." Everything costs something - there is no free lunch. However, there are less costly lunches. We are driven to lessen the cost, while still trying to garner the same or greater value. AU decisions have a relative cost associated with them, in both the short- and long-term. Further, this cost is seen differently by those who pay it, than by those who make the decisions that incur it - they are often not the same people. Yet it should always be our charge to manage the reduction of those costs over the life cycle, not just under our watch.