Byron recently brought up an interesting issue regarding the disconnect between Hardware and Software. There is actually a movement towards a Hardware-Software Co-Design methodology that is really beginning to pick up some steam, particularly in the area of mobile phone development and embedded systems. The Co-Design methodology is really just a set of techniques which allows for the simultaneous design of Hardware and Software. Typically a system specification is divided early in the design process into two stages, software design and hardware design. Of course, this almost always leads to difficulties when you reach the end of the process and try to integrate the two together. And resolving those integration issues can, among other things, delay deployment and effect your time-to-market. Hardware-Software Co-Design attempts to integrate the two design paths by using a common platform and by increasing interaction/communication between the hardware and software development. This could be something as simple as more meetings between developers but usually includes more formal methods as well, like common development languages, modeling schemas, and specifications.

It’s definitely an interesting approach, but whether it has the potential to solve Byron’s help desk issues remains to be seen.