Design for quality, the key to good quality at low cost

Logic design has been subjected to fundamental changes. Electronic devices are no longer designed on a breadboard with inevitable design errors eliminated tediously on prototypes. Today, logic design is computer aided, and both highly ICs and complete electronic systems are simulated immediately. Design errors are excluded by a great deal by simulation. In reality, no designer and no simulation is perfect, so failures will still be detected on prototypes. However, the number of redesigns at the prototype stage has dropped from as high as ten to one. This design method successfully reduced time to market. The author knows of one company which finished the design of a medium-scaled mainframe one year before the expected date on using the new design method for the first time. Other companies, according to the literature, had similar experiences. Time to market was shortened from 2–4 years to 1–2 years. This did not come without a struggle. At the beginning, engineers did not believe in the feasibility of a complete simulation. Management had to insist on it until its obvious success convinced all doubters.