Configuration Manager

Design-for-test (DFT) involves the generation of test structures, the modification of the design to incorporate the test structures, the generation of test data and the verification of both the test structures and the test data. DFT usually occurs within a standard design flow incorporating capture, synthesis, and simulation capabiiities. Existing point solutions generate some structures such as scan-chain, 1149.1 elements and do not generate all the necessary structures. Existing point solutions require the designer to be intimately familiar with DFT and require that he/she understand both the structure and its connections with the rest of the design. Coventionally, it is the responsibility of the designer to both maintain and re-use test data/structure(s). LogicVision's existing solution provide the ability to generate built-in self-test (BIST) and various other structures at the RTL and higher up levels. LogicVision intends to develope a configuration manager which will maintain all the test structures/data generated by the tools and by operating at the RTL and higher levels, the structures are connected by the configuration manager with the rest of the design. The tools thus permit the re-use of test objects and test data across the hierarchy of the design. This will result in a vertically integrated hierarchical test automation solution, which will increase designer productivity and also improve the quality of the design.