March 1, 2005 -- Traditional design and manufacturing processes fall into several distinct phases. These phases start with the initial algorithm development and end with successful system manufacture. While design processes vary between companies, the following phases are generally recognizable: algorithm design, architecture design, implementation, and manufacturing.
Historically, these phases have been managed using separate design software or processes. With older analog communications systems, there was generally no custom chip. It was easy to test individual parts of a system multiple times. Instead of using a tuning screwdriver on the testbench, experienced designers could often design a complete system with no software at all. Testing a complete system was as simple as speaking into a microphone and listening to the quality.
By Rob Lefebvre. (Lefebvre is the CTO/EVP of Eagleware Corp.)
This brief introduction has been excerpted from the original copyrighted article.
