Time and product life cycles are related. The rate of technological innovation has increased for many industries and the life of a particular product can be quite short. Managers must be able to respond quickly and decisively to changing market conditions. Information to allow them to accomplish this goal must be available. Hawlett-Packard has found that it is better to be 50 percent over budget in new product development than to be six months late. This correlation between cost and time is part of the cost management system