It’s important for vendors to understand their individual customers and not dictate general solutions to meet all customers’ needs, according to Kirk Benell, chief technical officer for ITT Visual Information Solutions. “To deliver successful, easy-to-use functionality, software providers must deliver solutions that are rich in features, yet flexible enough to allow customers to tailor the final deployment to meet a specific need. Software can no longer be one size fits all, but open to end-user customization,” said Benell.

New open standards and protocols for data sharing and computing platforms also have helped simulation and analysis software become easier to use for nonanalysts. According to Graham Beasley, director of business development for Analytical Graphics, the Department of Defense has standardized on various protocols to share data for real-time simulation. “These are IEEE standards that are now being adopted by other communities,” explained Beasley. “There is a proliferation of open standards in other areas as well, enabling the user to more easily plug and play.”

Jon Friedman, manager of aerospace/ defense and automotive industry marketing for The MathWorks, agrees. “There are many in-house simulation platforms and standards developed to support specific projects. In the past, engineers would have to develop and test new components in isolation and then plug into the platform.”

But there is still a long way to go, according to Short. “Many software developers have tried to make simulation more accessible to designers, and some have succeeded more than others, although we are not even close to the fullest extent of what is possible. Even today, simulation is an afterthought in the minds of the CAD user or designer. The vast majority of simulation that makes a difference to the design is still performed by ‘experts.’ ”

The Hardware Effect

As much as the capabilities and ease of use of analysis and simulation software have improved, an even greater improvement comes with the speed at which the software runs. This is due in great part to faster computers using multi-processor and multi-core technologies to help engineers run their software — and get their designs to market — faster.