Physical effects of semiconductors are becoming more and more interrelated. Each design decision can create unintended consequences. In addition to the old problems generated by wire capacitance, engineers can no longer manually balance the myriad effects such as leakage current, inductive noise or IR drop. Manufacturing processes and environmental variation can render your functional chip useless or economically unviable. Market forces are creating demands of higher volumes at lower and lower price points. Investors are losing their appetite for risk and paying a premium for predictable success. Designers must walk a tightrope of price and performance to reach their time-to-market goals.