A design methodology for PC-expansion card development

The development of PC-expansion cards has been an on-going process for which there are no existing formal methodologies. As newer buses emerge, the complexity of the hardware and software design increases. This paper aims to provide an integrated understanding of the hardware and software aspects involved in the development of expansion cards. A design architecture has been designed to guide such developments by encapsulating all the pertinent design factors into a layered model, known as the Adapter Development Model. The focus is on mitigation of the process complications, which have proven its prowess in disabling the successful completion of such projects that are subjected to manpower and time constraints. Concentration is placed on the PCI platform and an applicability example based on MPEG2 PCI design is considered.