Page 111 - Analog Circuit Design Art, Science, and Personalities

The Process of Analog Design

the effort in-harvest the results. That includes being willing to throw your favorite
possibility out as a result of seeing yet a better one. Make yourself look for that
possibility often.

Let Others Contribute!

What if you need somebody else, some other contributor, in the development or
production process to do some things out of the ordinary-or at least what you
“perceive” is out of the ordinary? You may find they are more than willing. What
they need to do to “make it happen” may not be any big deal to them. Besides they
get the chance to be involved. It goes without saying that you should tell them what
the significance of their contribution will be.

Change? Aaaar~h!

Change is hard for people, including you. You may find there is a bias in you as
well as others to “throw the new thing out” at the slightest sign of its not working.
“Kill it” may be the predisposed response-never mind looking to see if there really
is a legitimate problem, let alone one that is caused by the new element itself. You
have to be on your guard when it comes to “problems” that come up in the develop-
ment. Make sure you investigate all the possibilities before concluding that the
problem is a result of the new approach, let alone that it won’t work.
Undoubtedly you will find yourself being intense in this process. When you no-
tice that you have been that way for a while (usually when you find you are spin-
ning your wheels), take a break. Do some other work, play, or whatever, as long as
it’s a different type of activity-let the conscious mind address other things, or
nothing. It is possible that when you come back to it you will see new avenues or
maybe even the solution that had been avoiding you (or the other way around).

If Not You, Who?
A1 some point you (or someone else) is going to declare that it is time to implement.
That doesn‘t mean you are through! Even if other people are carrying out parts of
the implementation, it doesn’t mean that you can ignore them or their contribution.
You are the one who has to make sure that what comes out lives up to the goal-
lives up to the vision. Who else knows what that is? Does anybody know it better
than you? No! It is your responsibility.

Eagle’s View

Occasionally, throughout the whole design process, you are going to have to pull
far enough away from the project to get some perspective on it-the eagle’s view if
you will. You will need to this especially after any big turns or leaps. The place
from which you view the world needs to change frequently during the design pro-
cess. Sometimes you need perspective, while at other times you need to be so in-
volved with a single piece or concept that nothing else exists.

Have Fun!

Designing can be a lot of fun. It has been for me. 1 hope it is for you. Having fun
will make your work much better and possibly result in other benefits as well.

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