Verification Engineering Roadmap
A comprehensive technical checklist for mastering Front-End Silicon Verification. No fluff, just the skills you need.
Phase 1: Hardware Basics & Logic
Digital Design
- Boolean Algebra & Gates
- Combinational vs Sequential Logic
- FSM Design (Mealy/Moore)
- Clock Domain Crossing (CDC) Basics
- Reset Synchronizers
Verilog HDL
- Data types: reg, wire, logic
- Blocking vs Non-blocking
- Structural vs Behavioral
- Generate blocks & Parameters
- Writing simple Testbenches
Phase 2: SystemVerilog Mastery
OOP & Language
- Classes, Inheritance & Polymorphism
- Virtual Methods & Interfaces
- Mailboxes, Semaphores & Events
- DPI-C (Connecting C to SV)
Functional CVG
- Covergroups & Sampling events
- Coverpoints, Bins & Crosses
- Constraint Randomization (dist, solve-before)
- Coverage-Driven Verification (CDV)
Phase 3: Industry Methodologies
UVM Framework
- UVM Base Classes (Object vs Component)
- Factory Override Mechanism
- Config DB & Resource DB
- Phasing & Transaction Level Modeling (TLM)
- Writing Drivers, Monitors & Sequencers
Registers (RAL)
- UVM Register, Field & Block abstractions
- Adapter & Predictor logic
- Front-door vs Back-door access
- RAL Coverage Collection
Phase 4: Advanced Specialization
Bus Protocols
- AMBA AXI4 (Burst, Handshakes, QoS)
- ACE & CHI (Cache Coherency)
- PCI Express (PCIe) Gen 5/6
- DDR4/5 Memory Controllers
Advanced Tools
- Formal Verification (JasperGold)
- Hardware Emulation (Palladium/Zebu)
- Power-Aware Verification (UPF)
- GLS (Gate Level Simulation)
Phase 5: Verification Architect
Strategy
- SoC-level Verification Planning
- VIP Selection & Vendor Relations
- Regression Management & Triage
- Continuous Integration (CI/CD) pipelines
Emerging Tech
- AI/ML in Testbench Generation
- Software-Driven Verification (C/C++)
- Post-Silicon Validation Debug