Helmers

You almost hit the spot! But for increased efficiency, ask yourself "what is time relative _to_?", and end the sentence with "if that's possible for $<insert sum>".

alternatively, "if you can be bothered...?"

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I learned as a software developer in the US Air Force the expression.. "Yes, but here's the cost..." -where cost was always the general sense.

I was an officer and in charge of a handful of troops on occasions. I learned this in terms of military duties, but carried it over to my software development as well.

As an officer, I was often asked if my troops could do get the job done. I learned that you never say No, but you say "Yes, but here's the cost..." -it gives me the opportunity to really express what a dumb idea I think it is... but I'm not telling them that directly.

"Can you put a dancing hamster animation to play whenever the user loads Opera?"

"Yes, but here's the cost. The user will have to wait for it to load before they can use it, it will cost the developement team 2 weeks of extra development time costing Opera 200 thousand dollars just to make it to testing. Usability will suffer from the limited interface, and users who suffer from induced seizures are at risk due to the proposed flash...."

"uhhh nevermind."

...then, even if they say "ok- go ahead with it." you've covered all the bases as well.

I realize this wasn't exactly your point with this thread.. but your statement that anything is possible reminded me of that a bit. My old Master Sergeant taught me the same thing. "Sir, don't tell them no... tell them we'll do it, but make sure they understand the cost of doing so."

Maybe you should ask "what would it take to do x...." or something in terms of that. Often it may not take a lot of time to code something up, but it would have a greater impact than just time.