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When it comes to achieving optimal performance and function, analog design is difficult to get right. According to Semiconductor Engineering, analog content causes the most test and chip failures. Additionally, a Cadence report shows that 95 percent of field failures come from analog elements in the design.

As more designs go digital, analog becomes increasingly crucial to enhance better user experience in the chip interface. This means the standards for reliability also increase—adding more stress to quality and performance.

Sometimes things don’t go quite as planned. You commit to checking off a few tasks for the day, and suddenly a change to the budget or revision in the project brief takes you back to square one. What was supposed to be a clear and straightforward project now requires longer development times, more resources, or aggressive deadlines. The productive day you wished for took a turn didn’t expect. This phenomenon, called scope creep, happens to the best of us.

Chip engineers in small teams are often knee-deep in a wide range of different tasks and projects. From client management and design layout to data analysis and testing, they have their work cut out for them. The mantra “do more with less” has become a popular strategy for running lean teams in many semiconductor companies. While this approach saves time and money, engineers may risk quality, productivity, and performance.

This scenario plays out all too often in high-performing design teams when engineering leaders lose sight of purpose, processes, and people. Deadlines get aggressive, development times are uncertain, and the results become questionable. The price to pay is immense, and companies can’t afford to fall short on testing, especially when pattern generation (PG) is on the line. So what do you do?