16. Ski Valet provides materials that let people teach themselves how to snow ski. It has six different skill-level programs.

The accounting system of Ski Valet is very traditional in its reporting functions with the calendar year being the company's fiscal year. It includes an abundance of information that can be used for various reporting purposes.

The company has found that any new idea soon runs its course with an effective life of about three years. Therefore, the company is always in the development stage of some new program. Program development requires experts in the area to provide the know-how of the item being developed and a development team that puts together the video, audio, and workbook materials.

The actual costs of reproducing the packages are relatively inexpensive when compared to the development costs.

Required:

How might product life-cycle budgeting aid the company in improving its overall operations?