IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS

I have previously submitted an article, which was rejected after major revisions in the second round of review. Indeed, the article was not well-developed and lacked innovation. The reviewers' comments were very constructive, and after making revisions, I submitted it to another journal for acceptance.

This time, I started submitting in late April, and I am more confident about this submission.
After about two months, the first review came back with major revisions. The three reviewers provided a lot of comments, which were straightforward and very helpful for improving the article. I added experiments, comparisons, and provided more detailed descriptions of the methods before resubmitting.
The second review also took two months and required major revisions again. The three reviewers provided many excellent suggestions regarding the added experiments. However, I didn't feel it required major revisions. Perhaps the editor was strict, and I carefully addressed the reviewers' concerns before resubmitting.
The third review took about a month and a half, and the article was accepted. It turned out that there were actually five reviewers in total. I guess the reviewers were not the same for all three rounds. One of the reviewers wrote a detailed evaluation of seven to eight hundred words. The journal really found reviewers who truly understand the subject matter. The final accepted version differed greatly from the initial draft.

The overall submission process took six months.
I suggest that those working on EDA-related topics submit their articles. Even if they are not accepted, the reviewers' comments and suggestions are very helpful for improving the article.

The result came out two months after the first review with five reviewers who raised many crucial questions. The overall feedback was major revision. The second review also took two months and only had two comments (although they were previously mentioned by other reviewers). It still required minor revision. Finally, it passed the final review. It is a top journal in CCF A class! But why is it only considered as a third-tier journal...