A method and system for automatically guiding a user through a design flow for an integrated circuit are disclosed. The method and system include displaying a design flow user interface on a user's computer, where the user interface includes symbols corresponding to design flow process steps. The design flow process steps are defined with a set of rules, and user input for each step is analyzed for compliance with the rules. The user is allowed to proceed to a next step in the flow once it is determined that the previous steps have been completed successfully.