The AT&T 5ESS(TM) Hardware Design Environment: A Large Systems´s Hardware Design Process

Large telecommunications switching systems are very complex products consisting of millions of lines of software code running on a system of hundreds of circuit boards. AT&T\´s 5ESS(TM) Switch product is globally designed and manufactured at multiple sites working under a common process. Competitive pressure in the communications industry forces the following ongoing improvement directives on the design process: 1. reduce the product\´s cycle time and time to market 2. improve product quality and reliability 3. reduce product cost and improve designer productivity. These directives lead to several major considerations in the hardware design environment, and the importance of those considerations is multiplied in large products. This paper describes at a high level the process and support structures for the ongoing hardware development of AT&T\´s 5ESS(TM) Switch, focusing on the following: 1. A disciplined hardware process, with a well defined process maintenance structure aimed at continual improvement. 2. The implementation of new tool technologies in a controlled manner. Our data shows that occasional paradigm shifts lead to very significant improvements. 3. A well structured hardware design support environment supporting rapid change in process and to "usher in" new technologies. 4. The use of Concurrent Engineering is critical in large projects to enable meeting the improvement directives. An overview of the electrical hardware design process will be given, describing how design technologies are employed toward achieving these improvements.