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Requirements Before an and much more. This phase should result in a Product Requirements Document . Architecture The '' Architecture '' defines the fundamental structure, goals and principles of the product. It defines high level concepts and the intrinsic value proposition of the product. Architecture teams take into account many variables and interface with many groups. People creating the architecture generally have a significant amount of experience dealing with systems in the area for which the architecture is being created. The work product of the architecture phase is an architectural Specification . Micro-architecture The micro-architecture is a step closer to the Hardware . It implements the architecture and defines specific mechanisms and structures for achieving that implementation. The result of the micro-architecture phase is a micro-architecture specification which describes the methods used to implement the architecture. Implementation In the implementation phase the design itself is created using the micro-architectural specification as the starting point. This involves low level Definition and Partition ing, writing Code , entering schematics and verification. This phase ends with a Design reaching Tapeout . Bringup After a design is created, taped-out and manufactured actual hardware, First Silicon , is received which it taken into the lab where it goes through '' Bringup ''. Bringup is the process of powering, testing and characterizing the design in the lab. Numerous Test s are performed starting from very simple tests such as ensuring that the device will power on to much more complicated tests which try to stress the part in various ways. The result of the Bringup Phase is documentation of Characterization Data (how well the part performs to spec) and errata (unexpected behavior). Productization Productization is the art of taking a design from engineering into mass production manufacturing. Although a design may have successfully met the specifications of the product in the lab during the bringup phase there are many challenges that face product engineers when trying to mass produce those designs. The IC must be ramped up to production volumes with an acceptable Yield . The goal of the productization phase is to reach mass production volumes at an acceptable cost. Sustaining Once a design is mature and has reached mass production it must be sustained. The Process must be continually monitored and problems dealt with quickly to avoid a significant impact on production volumes. The goal of sustaining is to maintain production volumes and continually reduce costs until the Product reaches End Of Life . REQUIREMENTS ARCHITECTURE MICRO-ARCHITECTURE IMPLEMENTATION BRINGUP PRODUCTIZATION SUSTAINING |
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