System and method for controlling a design process

A method for controlling a design process having a first design sub-process and a second design sub-process, outcomes of one of the first and second design sub-processes being linked to outcomes of the other of the first and second design sub-processes and vice versa by a relationship between one or more first design sub-process variables (A) and one or more second design sub-process variables (B) of the second design sub-process, the system comprising:

• providing a user configurable interface between said first and second design sub-processes and configuring said user configurable interface control said design process by specifying which of said one or more variables (A, B) are active variables which can have their domains modified by at least one internal process within the sub-process to which the variable belongs and which of said one or more variables (A,B) are passive variables which have their domains determined within allowable values by the domains of the other variable or variables in said relationship,
• whereby specifying which of the variables are active variables and which are passive variables determines the manner in which said relationship is evaluated and the dominance of a sub-process in the overall design process.

A method as claimed in clam 18, wherein specifying a relationship comprises specifying two or more relationships and a conditional rule for selecting which of the two or more relationships is used.