CHALLENGE
Continue reducing the large OEM custom chip development cycle currently at 28-32 months to compete with shorter cycles of other chip design developers. Each month late meant a late market entry and market share (and therefore potential revenue) loss for the company.
KEY CHANGES
- Increased headcount to improve staffing for key functions that took longer to complete tasks
- Identified and acquired new tools to improve verification coverage and reduce the chances of any bug escapes
- Communication requirements were tightened; no “open loops,” no unanswered email, phone calls or verbal questions among the core design team members. Every query had to be documented with a status or closed by the requestor within 24-48 hours – absolutely no exceptions.
IMPACT
- Design-to-first-prototype development cycles were reduced by more than 20%, to 18-24 months.
- A positive early-to-market revenue gain of $100M per month, and a $1M reduction in development cost per design.