Abstract The infusion of new technology into existing product architectures introduces significant challenges, particularly in managing the risks associated with higher-order effects on system functionality and reliability. Within current industrial practices, the development of such integration support is challenging as it requires integrating data related to component and system testing activities, and product architecture design. There is a need to make decisions based on incomplete data due to the difficulty of evaluating all potential configurations, as well as to proactively identify areas of the product architecture that could be problematic in the future. This study aims to support the development of new products at a prominent international automotive company, by examining the field effects generated and influenced by their components and the impact of infusing new technology on the system architecture. We propose integrating and linking these concerns about field effects and architectural impact within a DSM-based method. The method has been implemented in a case study based on the introduction of a steer-by-wire system. The method is proven effective for finding relevant configurations for integrating new technology into products under development. Thus, a robust framework is proposed for harmonizing the evolution of products with the evolution of technology, fostering innovation within product platform design.