Summary: Comparing the specifics of your semiconductor design with industry and company history enables insightful what-if scenario analysis to help manage development programs effectively .

During the planning stages for a chip design, there are a number of variables that can be tweaked in the creation of the final product plan. We can reduce or expand the feature set for a new device. We can reduce or extend the schedule. And we can reduce or increase the number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff allocated to the project. By manipulating these variables, we can negotiate a plan between the different stakeholders. In some cases, resources are the limiting factor. In others, the schedule is non-negotiable (for example a lot of consumer products must be ready for CES).

Running a lot of plans against all these variables has historically been difficult and time-consuming. In addition, the results have always been subject to arguments because there has been no trusted model to relate complexity, resources and schedule. Numetrics changes all that. By tweaking resource, schedule or feature set (complexity) assumptions, NMX-ERP can rapidly generate graphs that show the feasibility of each plan, and compare it with company and industry norms using their proprietary complexity engine and plan synthesizer.

The speed and defensibility of these analyses lends them great power. It is not rational to assume productivity or schedules that are significantly different from past performance, so any feasible plan must lie close to the lessons of history. There is a cost to adding features, or to shrinking the schedule, or to reducing headcount. The most effective way to negotiate these choices is with the aid of an objective toolset that combines the specifics of your design and plan with industry and company history. The tool is fast enough that you can run tens or even hundreds of plans in minutes or hours. From these scenarios you can then pick the plan that best meets your business goals.