Abstract: An interactive software-based network design tool that may be used to simulate and view the operation of a wireless mesh device network used in a process plant, such as a wireless HART device network, allows a user to create a model of a wireless network, input several design requirements, and automatically generate and view communication routes and schedules for the wireless network. The network design tool provides an interactive graphic interface for the addition, removal, and positioning of nodes and devices within the wireless network and a menu including several interactive screens for specifying threshold values, network topology selections, routing preferences, and other configuration parameters related to generating and optimizing communication routes and schedules within the wireless mesh network. The network design tool automatically applies a set of optimization rules along with the parameters input by user to the network model in order to generate efficient network configuration data.