Introduction to SVUnit

svunit-tagOur SVUnit user base is growing… and I’d like to do what I can to help things along further. If you’re on a team that is:

  • interested in SVUnit but need a nudge to get going;
  • evaluating SVUnit and want to be sure it fits your need; or
  • using SVUnit and want to know you’re getting the most out of it

…I’m here to help. For teams looking to take the next steps with SVUnit, regardless of where you are now, I’d like to offer an hour of my time for an informal Q&A to address any questions or concerns. Contact me at neil.johnson@agilesoc.com to book a time.

-neil

Agile Hardware is More Than Verification

Choosing a domain name for a blog can be tricky, no? You want to pick something that describes what you’re doing, but also something catchy that people will relate to and remember. In the days before AgileSoC.com, I remember choosing between 2 domain names. It was a short discussion via email between Bryan and I and the decision came down to agileverification.com or something more inclusive… Continue reading

Whatever Happened to UVM Express?

Back in February, 2012, Mentor started promoting a new method for building UVM testbenches. It was a 3 step method called UVM Express and it suggested a methodical way of adopting UVM by separately focusing on BFM development, coverage and stimulus. Mentor still has material on their website, but having heard very little of it since, I get the idea it fizzled out.

When it was first announced, I thought UVM Express was a great idea. Now I think it’s a shame that its disappeared. I know it’s almost 4 years later, but considering UVM seems here to stay for the foreseeable future, I’d like to see Mentor give UVM Express another shot. I’d like to see a UVM Express 2015. So much so that I’ve given Mentor a head start. Continue reading

Step 1: Make Someone’s Life Easier

How do I get started with agile hardware development? That’s a question I get a lot. Do you ask for management approval or try something under the radar? Is a pilot appropriate or is it best to just go for it with the whole team? Is it better to start with this team or that team? And the biggest hurdle…

How do you get people to buy into the idea? Continue reading

SVUnit User Guide Feedback

The SVUnit User Guide is a few weeks old. Lots of views so far, which is a good sign, but not much feedback yet so I’ve added a form so people can let me know what they think. If you’re using SVUnit, please take the time to post feedback. The form is at the bottom of the User Guide page. It’s just 3 questions and an optional text box to paste in any additional praise/rant.

Thanks!

-neil

Agile2015 Conference Report

Last week was the Agile2015 conference in Washington, DC. For the 4th year in 5, I was 1 of very few hardware developers so I wrote up an Agile2015 Conference Report to give others a feel for what they’re missing. Usually I come away having learned 1 new thing, this year was 2 so it was a good week for me. If you’re a hardware developer interested in agile development, this is a great conference to get started.

Here’s my report for the week. Already looking forward to next year!

-neil

SVUnit Also Has a Logo

svunit-p1I figured the new user guide made SVUnit look like a real product. And since real products have a logo, I stayed up late one night and did logo. But if it has a logo, shouldn’t it also have a tagline? I guess, so now it has a tagline. But having a tagline means… well… you get the idea.

(For anyone curious about what goes on in my head, we’ve reached the point of real-time brain dump. It happens to me once in a while. Not sure how long it’ll last. Hopefully it’s entertaining.)

-neil

Agile2015 (Hardware) Conference Countdown

Looked at the calendar today and discovered the Agile conference Washington, DC is less that 3 weeks away. Me and my hardware demo are on the schedule again this year, so that means less than 3 weeks until the new and improved version makes it’s debut. I’m looking forward to it.

Here’s a description of my talk from the agile2015.agilealliance.org scheduled for Thursday Aug 6th at 2pm…

Screen Shot 2015-07-15 at 9.31.45 PM

At a glance, this year’s talk looks similar to last year. TDD is still the theme from the embedded software right down to the hardware. We’ll do a demo in the last 15 minutes again. We’ll see dots dancing on the screen. All cool stuff. The big upgrade, however, is that this year is all about the hardware. With a more realistic circuit, much more logic and upwards of 100 hardware tests, there’s way more to look at and real lesson’s learned.

I’m proud to say we’ve gone from about a 1 to a solid 7 on the hardware.

Way better.

For any hardware developers going to the conference or even in the area, I’m always happy to chat (at length!) about agile hardware. And for all my software friends, I’m looking forward to our yearly visit!

See you in about 17 days!

-neil

SVUnit Now Has a User Guide

While I find reading EDA user guides hard enough, writing them is way worse, which is why I’ve avoided it for as long as I have. Alas, with usage of SVUnit growing pretty steady and people hinting for better instruction, I figured it was finally time to get something out there.

So whether you’re new to SVUnit or you’re a seasoned SVUnit old-timer, the SVUnit User Guide will probably have some useful tidbits of information to improve your experience. It’s in a state of incomplete so far, but useful nonetheless. It’ll slowly come together toward a state of completeness over the next few weeks.

As always, feedback is welcome at neil.johnson@agilesoc.com.

Enjoy!

-neil