According to various examples, a processing system is described comprising a plurality of hardware circuit components, each hardware circuit component configured to provide a processing functionality, a data path leading through the plurality of hardware circuit components, at least one programmable circuit and a controller configured to select one of the hardware circuit components to be replaced by the at least one programmable circuit, program the programmable circuit to provide the processing functionality provided by the selected hardware circuit component and configure the data path to lead through the programmable circuit instead of the selected hardware circuit component.