An apparatus, program product and method visually represent the disparities between a target design such as a DSP program design and a reference system in connection with the display of a graphical representation of the design, specifically in association with one or more connection elements representing connections defined within the target design. By doing so, a designer, developer or tester who is working with a particular target design is better able to identify and analyze potential problems or other unexpected and/or unintended behaviors in a target design.