Over the past several years, a great deal of effort has gone into the development and deployment of functional verification tools and technologies. However, logical and functional flaws continue to be the leading cause of design spins by a fantastic margin. Yet despite the best efforts of the EDA industry, the problem is getting worse. Between 2002 and 2004 the percentage of designs with functional errors has actually increased.

Current verification tools and technologies are not only failing but also falling further behind the pace of design innovation. In order to reverse this trend, we need to change the way we think about functional verification in general and how we evaluate verification productivity specifically. We need to open the door to a new methodology that represents real value, not merely the re-packaging of distinct and disparate tools.

An advanced verification methodology is made possible by the purposeful application of an integrated set of intelligent methodologies to functional verification. As embodied in the Questa platform from Mentor Graphics, this advanced verification methodology enables users to manage and implement powerful technologies in a complementary way, providing confidence that the myriad corner cases of today's increasingly complex designs are covered.