Viewpoint: Methodology, Not Tools, is the Key to Winning the Design Race

In the race to create the next new and improved generation of electronic systems, the winners will owe their success more to design methodology than to choice of point tools. Point tools are still important; but more and more, they will be bundled into suites of integrated tools, configured to implement a particular design flow. Already, tool suites tailored to specialized designs—say, printed-wiring boards, ICs, or multichip modules—are available from vendors.