Product status parameter is set on the product record. It can be set to either 'Active' or 'In development' upon product creation. This product status can ALWAYS be changed afterward.

Beware in the SEED folder there is a default Advanced selection removing from the left list all products set as 'Not usable'. This can give the false impression that such product cannot be modified afterwards but by removing the selection you can access to any product record and change the product status from 'Not usable' to 'Active' for instance.

Thank you for your reply but what I'm looking for is can the default setting be changed meaning when setting up a product we're defaulting to active, can that be changed to in dev?

Sure to create product 'In dev", you just need to set the product category to creation method = With validation (Field ITMCREMOD in the description tab).

Afterwards, you just need to modify the product status record into the suitable value.

I highly recommend that you DO NOT change anything with this. I learned the hard way. I would recommend you create your own drop down menu which becomes active when the status is Active. And then you have your drop down that filters the Active status to whatever you need limited down. That is how I did it, and it is working a lot better than modifying the existing standard product status. 

If you mean changing the controls related to each product status value, then you are right.

Keep in mind each entry transaction will control the product status, so changing the controls related to product status (such as authorizing the sale of a not usable product) will require changes on all sales functions!