Expert Answer
Anonymous
During the post-RTL freeze stage, I had to present to the bug fix approval committee about a critical bug found late in the process. The committee’s decision would determine whether we proceed with an Engineering Change Order (ECO), implement a software (SW) workaround, or explore other strategies—each impacting the project schedule differently. Since the committee members had varying levels of technical expertise, I needed to present the bug's impact, root cause, and possible fixes in a way that both technical and non-technical stakeholders could interpret to make an informed decision.
🔹 Engaged with Architects to understand the expected vs. actual behavior of the system due to this bug.
🔹 Collaborated with SW teams to evaluate how their applications would interact with the silicon and whether this bug could be avoided at the system level.
🔹 Explored a SW workaround—leveraging an existing register configuration to bypass the issue—reducing the need for an ECO fix.
🔹 Presented a comparative analysis to the committee:
- ECO fix: Required additional design effort and verification cycles, delaying the project.
- SW workaround: A faster, low-risk solution with minimal validation overhead.
My SW workaround proposal was approved, preventing costly design changes.
🔹 This saved significant time for both Design and DV teams, allowing verification to be completed quickly.
🔹 We added functional coverage to our regressions to ensure the bug scenario remained tested.
🔹 Most importantly, effective communication across stakeholders enabled a timely, well-informed decision, keeping the project on track.