Patent ID: 7904843

Claim:
A method of generating, by use of a computer, a scenario that is a series of operations for testing functions of an LSI, comprising: extracting a plurality of operations of an LSI from a specification model of the LSI described in a predetermined descriptive language; generating a plurality of operation descriptions, each of which describes relationships between input and output of a corresponding one of the operations and includes an operation name and a constraint condition; generating at least one cause-effect graph that combines the operations based on the operation descriptions; and extracting, by using a processor, from the at least one cause-effect graph a scenario that is a series of operations for testing functions of the LSI, wherein the procedure of extracting a scenario extracts the series of operations by tracing back through the at least one cause-effect graph from a node that satisfies a condition required by a scenario constraint indicating a desired outcome, such that the series of operations lead to the desired outcome.