Method for computer-aided design of a product or process

A method for designing a signal processing system that is represented as a design cycle, comprising the steps of:

• using the design cycle representation to create a plurality of alternate process steps toward achieving a predefined goal of the signal processing system;
• assigning cost metrics to each of the alternate process steps;
• estimating a range of values for each of the assigned cost metrics;
• and
• optimizing a cost of achieving the predefined goal.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed cause the computer to perform the steps of:

• converting a design cycle that characterizes a design activity into a plurality of alternate process steps for achieving a predefined goal of the design activity;
• assigning estimated cost metrics to the alternate process steps;
• executing the design cycle for at least one iteration;
• replacing associated estimated cost metrics with actual cost metrics;
• and
• using the actual cost metrics to calculate new estimated cost metrics.