Using electronic design automation throughout the product life cycle

Essentially all circuitry in use today has been designed using electronic design automation (EDA) tools to meet the intended requirements. Virtually every EE student in the last three decades has been introduced to these tools in school, and there is general familiarity with their usage paradigm. As their capabilities have evolved, the thrust of the EDA firms has been toward higher performance, more functionality, and more cost, and the emergence of a cadre of highly specialized and skilled professionals who are the houses' de facto gurus for the circuits they design and move into production.