1. A method of implementing a circuit design, the method comprising: specifying criteria for control and data path identification; generating a representation for the circuit design; analyzing the representation based upon the criteria for control and data path identification; identifying control and data elements of the circuit design based upon paths and macros of the circuit design; generating, by a computer, a modified representation for the circuit design based upon the identified control and data elements; generating a resource estimation associated with the circuit design; and generating characteristic data related to the circuit design, wherein generating characteristic data related to the circuit design comprises generating characteristic data based upon the resource estimation.