Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1219242
MARCH 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 33 Shaughnessy: It's funny. In almost every inter- view, it all comes back to data, whether we're discussing an EDA tool or an SMT line. The customers are usually happy with the tool, but they can't get all of the data they need, or they can't get it in the best format for them to be able to use it effectively. They can't get the data right away, or they can't make sense of it. We have all of this data, but it's not always in a useful format. Banton: For the most part, if the engineers are presented with the right data, they can make an informed, intelligent decision, but if they only have half the picture, then you're ask- ing them to try to figure out and guess an aw- ful lot. At the end of the day, you want to cut some costs, but the priority is a working prod- uct. You're probably going to err toward what you know is going to work. Shaughnessy: Make it work first, and then try to trim some costs off it, which isn't always the best way to go. Banton: And that can lead to its own problems. It's that waterfall effect where every decision piles onto the next decision. It's hard to say, "We'll just swap this part out." How many de- cisions have you already made because you picked that part? Shaughnessy: Do you have any advice that you would offer designers and engineers as far as reducing costs and making the board more profitable? Banton: It boils down to advocating for them- selves. As we keep saying, electronics are per- vasive; they are the brains of all these great things that we take for granted more than we should. How do you get more say in the orga- nization that what you're doing has a tremen- dous amount of value to that company? If you can show that you can cut costs in the design process, it tends to raise some eyebrows in the higher levels of your organization. You have to wrap your mind around the idea that you can help save the company money and be more efficient. Shaughnessy: It's like Rick Hartley says: You have to be your biggest advocate in the compa- ny. If the company doesn't know that you know what you're talking about, that's your own fault. Banton: Look at simulation tools. With simula- tion, you could tell your manager, "We took a layer out of the board, and I was able to verify that the board is still going to work, and that's going to save us this much money." The bene- fit then becomes tangible. Whereas, if you say, "I made sure it's going to work," that's your job. Or if you look at reliability and sensitivity