The engineering design process is comprised of several major steps: 1. Specifications and other design goals are defined. 2. A circuit is proposed. This is a creative process that draws on the physical insight and experience of the engineer. 3. The circuit is modeled. The converter power stage is modeled as described in Chapter 7. Components and other portions of the system are modeled as appropriate, often with vendor-supplied data. 4. Design-oriented analysis of the circuit is performed. This involves development of equations that allow element values to be chosen such that specifications and design goals are met. In addition, it may be necessary for the engineer to gain additional understanding and physical insight into the circuit behavior, so that the design can be improved by adding elements to the circuit or by changing circuit connections. 5. Model verification. Predictions of the model are compared to a laboratory prototype, under nominal operating conditions. The model is refined as necessary, so that the model predictions agree with laboratory measurements. 6. Worst-case analysis (or other reliability and production yield analysis) of the circuit is performed. This involves quantitative evaluation of the model performance, to judge whether specifications are met under all conditions. Computer simulation is well-suited to this task. 7. Iteration. The above steps are repeated to improve the design until the worst-case behavior meets specifications, or until the reliability and production yield are acceptably high.