The MCC CAD Framework Methodology Management System (MMS) is used to describe and control distributed engineering activities in terms of design methodologies.The MMS provides a medium for tool and task description which includes extensible dependency semantics as well as access to data managemen~ communication,and general computation services.The MMS architecture is resistant to network and host failures and provides mechanisms for efficient use of networked computing resources.

The design of today's electronic systems involves the use of a growing number of complex CAD tools. Invoking and controlling these tools, independently or as part of a captured, multi-operation flow, remains an error-prone and largely unsolved problem. This problem is the focus of the Design Methodology Management Technical Subcommittee (DMMTSC) of the CAD Framework Initiative. This paper describes the DMM problem, establishes DMM requirements, and presents the state of the DMMTSC effort to define interface standards for proposed solutions.

The MCC CAD framework methodology management system (MMS) is used to describe and control distributed engineering activities in terms of a unified design methodology. Methodologies describe the interactions among design tools and design team members necessary to manage the concurrent design activities associated with design-in-the-large (DITL). A distributed process control server (PCS) provides general process control, load balancing, and interprocess communication (IPC) services to effectively support methodology management activities using networked computing resources.>