TO AVOID SUBOPTIMIZATION DURING THE DESIGN, IT IS INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO INTEGRATE DFA INTO A WIDER CONTEXT OF DESIGN TOOLS. BY FOCUSING TOO NARROWLY ON DFA, WE RUN THE RISK OF JUST SHIFTING COSTS INTO OTHER AREAS, AS WELL AS IGNORING THE ASSEMBLY CONSEQUENCES OF DECISIONS MADE ELSEWHERE. APART FROM LEARNING TO MEASURE THE CONSEQUENCES OF DFA IN OTHER AREAS, A FULL UNDERSTANDING IS NEEDED OF HOW ASSEMBLY COSTS ARE INFLUENCED BY DECISIONS MADE IN OTHER DESIGN ACTIVITIES THAN THE DFA-EFFORT. LIKEWISE, SINCE THE DECISIONS MADE DURING THE BASIC, CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PHASE TO A WIDE EXTENT DETERMINE THE ASSEMBLY COSTS, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO INTEGRATE THE DFA KNOW HOW INTO THESE PHASES.