Method and apparatus for providing multiple electronic design solutions

1. Field of the Invention An electronic computer aided design system provides for automated operation of a plurality of design tools to produce multiply design solutions to an initial circuit layout. Through the user entry of relative weights for: power, timing and area, different solutions to an initial layout can be generated exhibiting the requested balance of improvements over the original layout. A novel parts placement process is disclosed which prioritizes the reconfiguration of the initial design in a manner which assures that the multiple solutions will be generated which exhibit improved performance over the original layout in accordance with the priorities established by the user.