725 abbreviations with 1,246 meanings, from the gate and discipline codes on the lifecycle charts to the standards, bodies and industry terms the Hub uses. Where the same letters mean different things, each meaning is listed with the lifecycles that use it. The list is built from the lifecycle and compliance data, so it stays current. For definitions of terms in general, see the glossary.
The North American automotive body that publishes APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA and SPC manuals.
Standards bodies and agencies
Used in: AIAG and VDA FMEA guide
The automotive industry's phased method for planning a new product and its production process.
Quality and reliabilityStandards and regulations
Used in: APQP guide, APQP lifecycle, Traceability overlay, APQP lifecycle: APQP program management
Tester results agree with the bench, with simulation and between testers and insertions, within agreed tolerances, so failures seen on the tester can be trusted as failures of the part.
Gate codes
The cell structure and array organisation are chosen, with evidence from simulation and early structures that they can reach the density and the cell behaviour the generation needs.
Gate codes
In: Memory lifecycle
Static, dynamic and ruggedness behaviour is measured across temperature, compared with the design and the target datasheet, and the differences are explained.
Gate codes
Facility systems are commissioned and the cleanroom is certified to its cleanliness class, so tools can be moved in and connected.
Gate codes
The assessment report is issued, the capability profile is compared with the target, and the sponsor and customer agree what follows.
Gate codes
Cybersecurity goals and claims are agreed and the cybersecurity concept allocates requirements to the architecture, the operational environment and suppliers, without unresolved conflicts with safety.
Gate codes
Runs the change process after approval: classification, impact assessment across FMEAs, control plan and approvals, customer notification, requalification tracking, and the end of production and record retention.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Lead customers have qualified the part in their own products, by their own tests or a production part approval where their market asks for one, and approve it for their production, or have agreed when they will.
Gate codes
The die, package and stack pass their qualification to the published JEDEC methods and the target application, and the result is recorded.
Gate codes
In: Memory lifecycle
A cost or improvement change, such as a die shrink, a new material source or an assembly change, has been qualified and notified to customers, and is ready to implement.
Gate codes
At least one lead customer product built on the technology passes the customer's qualification and system evaluation, and the customer approves it for volume.
Gate codes
Owns the relationship with the customer's quality organisation: captures the voice of the customer and every customer specific requirement, prepares and submits the PPAP, handles customer portals, scorecards, complaints and change notifications.
Discipline codes
The RTL and analog design are complete with mitigation in place, reviewed against the mitigation architecture and the derating rules, and further changes go through change control.
Gate codes
In: Space lifecycle
The basis of design and the detailed design are frozen and released for construction; later changes go through change control with their cost and schedule effect stated.
Gate codes
Chip and board designs are complete and frozen for verification and type test builds; later changes go through change control with an impact analysis on safety, security and certification.
Gate codes
The hardware design, enclosure and main software features are frozen for the design validation build, and the technology the system depends on is confirmed ready.
Gate codes
In: System lifecycle
The customer design has been assessed: the array size, the memories, clocks and input and output it needs, the timing it can reach and the conversion work it needs are agreed with the customer.
Gate codes
The product's discontinuance is announced and the test plan for the last-time buy is agreed: capacity, hardware spares and the final test runs.
Gate codes
The candidates to evaluate, the reference designs with known answers and the success criteria are fixed before any result is seen, so the pilot cannot be judged on what it happened to do well.
Gate codes
Series supply of the part has ended as notified: last-time-buy orders are shipped, any service supply is in place, and records are retained for the agreed period.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Runs the design at speed on emulators and FPGA prototypes before the final hardware exists, so firmware and software can be brought up and hardware and software verified together.
Discipline codes
The accomplishment summaries and configuration indexes are accepted, the item conforms to its data, open problem reports are agreed, and the final stage of involvement closes the compliance findings.
Gate codes
The team, with management, commits that the part can be made, measured, tested and packed in the required volume and quality at acceptable cost, or records what must change first.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Handles customer returns and field failure analysis, runs the product change notification process, monitors safety-relevant field issues, and plans for obsolescence and end of supply.
Discipline codes
Analyses customer returns and field failures, leads problem solving with 8D or an equivalent method, feeds causes back into the FMEAs and control plans, and keeps the lessons learned database.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Designs packing, labelling and traceability marking to the customer's standards, evaluates packaging in the trial, and confirms capacity and delivery against the customer's demand.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Assembled modules are measured as the customer will use them, including antenna patterns and beam steering for arrays, and are ready for pre-compliance testing and customer evaluation.
Gate codes
In: RF lifecycle
The substrate or interposer technology and the key materials are chosen with measured properties, supplier commitments for development quantities and a first view of volume supply.
Gate codes
Prepares and runs the building of tools: make or buy, should-cost, critical suppliers and their qualification, the released bill of materials, build instructions, supply plans, build quality and cycle time, standard cost and last-time buys of parts.
Discipline codes
Makes sure every gauge, metrology tool and tester that checks a characteristic in the control plan is capable: calibration, gauge studies, tester to tester correlation and guard band setting.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Prepares the system for volume: design for manufacture, suppliers and the approved vendor list, the validation and production builds, production test, the production bill of materials, the ramp and last-time buys.
Discipline codes
In: System lifecycle
Builds the production trial and series parts: test programs and hardware released for production, operator training, the run at rate, and day to day control under the control plan, including part average testing where the customer requires it.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Product requirements, cost and price targets, schedule, make, buy or partner choices and resources are agreed, and the business commits the funding for full development.
Gate codes
A future node is put on the technology roadmap and a pathfinding team is funded to explore how it could be built.
Gate codes
The conditions for a bounded pilot are in place: what data may be used and where it may go, an evaluation agreement with the supplier, and the budget, people and isolated environment the pilot needs.
Gate codes
The integrated prototype passes its internal acceptance tests in the demonstration lab: functions, process results on test wafers, safety and early reliability.
Gate codes
Production is approved by the authority or accepted by the integrator, the obsolescence management plan is active and delivery of conforming units has started.
Gate codes
The customer has nominated the part or the business has approved a new automotive part, and a cross-functional APQP team is named with a leader, a schedule tied to the customer's program milestones and a list of the customer specific requirements that apply.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Cost, schedule, resources and feature set are agreed between the business and engineering, and development of the system is committed.
Gate codes
In: System lifecycle
Owns the product assurance plan, the compliance evidence against QML or ECSS requirements, the parts, materials and processes list, the quality level and procurement specification, design reviews, nonconformance and the material review board, and the release of every flight lot.
Discipline codes
In: Space lifecycle
Develops and proves the process results the tool exists to deliver: process requirements with customers, feasibility on test hardware, recipes, process windows, matching between tools and the process data customers qualify on.
Discipline codes
Owns the hardware process assurance plan and the software quality assurance plan, audits that plans and standards are followed, transition criteria checks, conformity reviews and the quality system that production runs under.
Discipline codes
Defines what every product on the platform shares and where products may differ: the reference architecture, the variation points, the platform interfaces and the rules a derivative must follow.
Discipline codes
A pilot project has used the processes and tools end to end, and what did not work has been fixed before wider rollout.
Gate codes
Owns the product on the test floor: first silicon results, correlation, the yield model and baseline, statistical bin limits, yield improvement and the lessons learned at end of life.
Discipline codes
Designs the chip, package and test to the agreed goals, leads the design FMEA and design reviews, runs design verification, releases specifications, drawings and the datasheet, and confirms the special characteristics.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Which function goes on which die, the node of each die and the packaging technology are fixed, so the interface, the dies and the package can start against one partitioning.
Gate codes
Before the architecture is frozen, the team shows that the photonic platform, the optical coupling and packaging approach, the laser integration approach and thermal control can meet the link budget, with the expected losses and limits stated.
Gate codes
The package, its environmental port or seal, its stress isolation and its assembly flow are frozen, with stress sensitivity shown to be inside the error budget.
Gate codes
The manufacturing route is designed and documented: process flow, process FMEA, pre-launch control plan, process instructions, the measurement system analysis plan and the capability study plan, packaging and labelling, so a production trial can be built on it.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
The equipment program is accepted, with a business case that allows for development assurance, certification liaison, qualification and support for the life of the aircraft, and a team is funded to define it.
Gate codes
The outputs of planning are reviewed and approved: design and reliability goals, quality goals, a preliminary bill of materials and process flow, the preliminary special characteristics, and a product assurance plan, so design can start against agreed targets.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Owns the product from concept to end of support: the product requirements, the roadmap fit, the business case after approval, the trade-offs between scope, cost and schedule, and every lifecycle decision.
Discipline codes
In: Product lifecycle, SoC lifecycle, FPGA lifecycle, System lifecycle
Owns the business case, the customer requirements, the development interface agreement with each customer, the mission profile and the long-term supply commitment.
Discipline codes
Owns the business case, the product requirements across silicon, system and software, the plan and the schedule, the early access and launch, the software roadmap after launch and the end of support.
Discipline codes
Owns what the software stack is for: the software requirements, roadmap, supported platforms, support period and release approvals, balancing customer needs against cost.
Discipline codes
Plans the adoption across projects, keeps the roadmap of AI-assisted steps, runs the first project plan and the transition when a step is retired, and reports adoption status.
Discipline codes
Owns the tool as a product: the customers' process roadmaps it serves, the market and competitive view, the business case including service and upgrades, pricing and configurations, the choice of evaluation customers, and the platform's lifecycle decisions.
Discipline codes
Owns the business case, the device concept, the design and development plan and schedule, launch readiness and the supply and support commitments, and leads discontinuance with customers and service teams.
Discipline codes
Owns the business case, the application profile, the program plan, the datasheet and the long-term supply commitment, and leads end-of-support decisions with customers.
Discipline codes
Plans and runs each project on the tailored process: scope, estimates, schedule, resources, interfaces and commitments, the risk register and its treatments, and progress reporting, adjusting the plan when reality moves.
Discipline codes
Leads the cross-functional team, owns the quality planning timing chart against the customer's program milestones, runs the phase reviews with management, tracks open issues and keeps the customer informed of status.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Owns why the platform exists and whether it pays: the business case across the product family, the roadmap, approval of derivatives, roadmap reviews and the platform's retirement.
Discipline codes
The process at the new fab is shown to match its reference in results, yield trend and reliability, and is released for customer product wafers.
Gate codes
Key injection, device identity, lifecycle locking and supply chain controls are proven at every production site before production parts carry secrets.
Gate codes
A customer qualifies the tool in its process and releases it into its process baseline, and the configuration that was qualified is recorded with an agreed change notification arrangement.
Gate codes
The assembled multi-die package has passed qualification to the agreed standard on units from the production assembly and test flow, with every failure analysed, and the final test program is released, so the product can move to production release.
Gate codes
Plans the package qualification from the sign-off results, qualifies the package under temperature cycling, moisture and other stresses, and analyses failures in bonds, bumps and interposer.
Discipline codes
Qualification has passed, the datasheet and production test program are released, supply is ready and the part is released for volume orders.
Gate codes
In: Product lifecycle, SoC lifecycle, AMS lifecycle, Chiplet lifecycle, FPGA lifecycle, Automotive lifecycle, AI accelerator lifecycle, Startup lifecycle, Memory lifecycle, Photonics lifecycle, MEMS and sensors lifecycle, RF lifecycle, Equipment lifecycle, Medical lifecycle, Industrial lifecycle, System lifecycle, FPGA chip lifecycle, Structured ASIC lifecycle
The production design kit, with final models and rules correlated to risk production silicon and validated sign-off decks, is released for production tape-outs.
Gate codes
The production software is released with production-signed images, the SDK, documentation, the software bill of materials and licence compliance, and the update service is ready.
Gate codes
The step is released in the production flow for every team within its qualified scope, with controlled documentation, training, capacity and an approved production environment.
Gate codes
Qualification has passed, customers have approved the part for production, for automotive through the production part approval process, and the part is released for volume orders with a supply commitment.
Gate codes
Before the security release, a public way to report vulnerabilities, a disclosure policy and a staffed incident response procedure are in place for the product.
Gate codes
The standard process set, tools and training are released for use by every project in scope.
Gate codes
The item is approved to leave development: production controls protect it, keys are provisioned securely, and monitoring, incident response and updates are ready.
Gate codes
A periodic review shows the certified system is performing: customer scorecards, problem solving closure, layered process audits, contingency plan tests and improvement projects are on track.
Gate codes
In: QMS lifecycle
Owns production transition, manufacturing and test procedures, first article inspection, production test correlation with qualification, and the production release of conforming units.
Discipline codes
Designs the manufacturing route across wafer fab, bump, assembly and test sites: process flow, process instructions, line layout, equipment and tooling, and leads the process FMEA with quality engineering.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Timing, power and physical checks are clean on the final layout, and the layout matches the netlist.
Gate codes
Enough early money, from founders, angels, a grant or an accelerator programme, is committed to pay for the proof of concept, with what it must show agreed in advance.
Gate codes
The fab starts product wafers for customers, with its quality system certified, operations ready and customers qualifying their products.
Gate codes
A recurring review of complaints, vigilance reports, trends, vulnerability findings, field actions and changes confirms the benefit-risk balance still holds, updates the risk management file and decides any corrective action or design change.
Gate codes
The certification plans and the plans and standards under them are complete, consistent with each other, submitted to the certification authority or the integrator, and reviewed at the first stage of involvement.
Gate codes
The production part approval package is complete at the required submission level, every element has been checked against the customer specific requirements, the part submission warrant is signed and the package is submitted.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Firmware and the main software run on emulation or FPGA prototypes of the hardware, the main use cases have been exercised, and the hardware and software issues found are tracked to closure.
Gate codes
In: System lifecycle
Owns the product's security: the security plan and secure development lifecycle, the review board, the release decision, residual risk acceptance and the security support plan until the end of support.
Discipline codes
Plans and runs post-market surveillance: complaint handling, trend analysis, vigilance reporting, field safety corrective actions, periodic reports, component obsolescence watch and the records archive at end of support.
Discipline codes
Protects the item in production: the cybersecurity control plan, secure provisioning of keys and certificates, end-of-line configuration and locking, protection of production tools and data, and the release for post-development.
Discipline codes
Leads disciplined problem solving for customer complaints, internal escapes and audit findings: containment, root cause by occurrence and escape, corrective and systemic preventive action, verification and closure, and the warranty and returns analysis that feeds it.
Discipline codes
In: QMS lifecycle
Owns the threat model, the security architecture, secure boot and update, security testing, the software bill of materials and the response to vulnerabilities until the end of support.
Discipline codes
In: System lifecycle
Measured performance and efficiency on the target workloads are compared with the targets and the model, and the remaining gaps have owners and plans.
Gate codes
Design partners have evaluated the test chip or platform on their own problems and stated in writing what value they saw, what they need changed and whether they intend to buy the product.
Gate codes
The production trial has shown that the process meets its requirements at rate: measurement systems are acceptable, initial capability on special characteristics meets the customer's requirement, production validation and qualification tests are passed, packaging is evaluated and the production control plan is approved.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Units built on the production line, with production tooling, test and suppliers, meet the requirements and the target yield, so the system is ready for production release.
Gate codes
In: System lifecycle
Codes the rules as design rule check, layout versus schematic, antenna, density and electrical rule check decks for each supported tool category, and proves each check on pass and fail test layouts.
Discipline codes
In: PDK lifecycle
Verifies the platform as a whole and owns the conformance test suite every derivative must pass to stay on the platform.
Discipline codes
The customer has approved the part for production shipment, either fully or with an interim approval whose conditions and expiry are recorded and tracked.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
The equipment has passed the environmental and electromagnetic qualification tests in its specification, with deviations dispositioned, and the reliability and derating analyses support the safety assessment.
Gate codes
Quality planning for the part is closed: process performance meets the goals, customer feedback is acted on, and lessons learned are recorded and fed into the next program.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Sets and audits the software process: the quality plan, coding standard, static analysis and coverage rules, licence compliance for third-party and open-source code, and the process and safety evidence some markets require.
Discipline codes
Keeps the tool's configuration known and controlled: design reviews, configuration baselines from alpha onward, the record of what each customer qualified, change notification agreements, field change orders and customer change notices, corrective actions and the final archive.
Discipline codes
Facilitates the FMEAs with the engineering teams, keeps the process flow, PFMEA and control plan consistent, writes the prototype, pre-launch and production control plans with their reaction plans, and runs the capability studies.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Owns the radiation environment specification, the technology radiation assessment, the hardening approach, the dose budget, the single-event rate predictions and the radiation hardness assurance plan and report that tie design, test and lot acceptance together.
Discipline codes
In: Space lifecycle
Plans and runs the reliability and qualification work: the design verification plan's stress tests, the qualification plan against AEC-Q100, AEC-Q101, AEC-Q104 or AEC-Q200 as applies, mission profile review, and requalification after changes.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
The product requirements turn the market requirements into measurable, testable requirements that engineering agrees it can meet, and are baselined so the specifications and the plan are built on them; the development commit confirms the baseline.
Gate codes
The reliability stresses the macro needs have passed on test chips to the agreed plan, so the macro is technically ready for production use.
Gate codes
A changed tool, model, setting, hosting arrangement or set of terms has been assessed, the affected evidence rerun, and the updated step approved for release.
Gate codes
A change to the product or process has been assessed, notified where required, requalified by the agreed plan and approved by the customer where required, so it can be implemented.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Production has shown the agreed stability, so the extra launch checks are removed with the customer's agreement and the part runs under the normal production control plan.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Screens suppliers and in-house options, manages the supplier relationship and agreement, plans licence and compute capacity, tracks supplier change notices and closes licences at retirement.
Discipline codes
In automotive work, the date series production of a vehicle or part begins.
Business and product lifecycleGate codes
The shrink or derivative is characterised and requalified, customers are notified of the change and those who need to have requalified it.
Gate codes
In: Memory lifecycle
Parts built on the production line, in the flight package and screened to the flight flow, start qualification to the agreed framework.
Gate codes
In: Space lifecycle
Brings the sub-tier suppliers into the plan: wafer foundry, assembly and test subcontractors, substrates, materials and services, with their own approvals, FMEAs and control plans, and the flow-down of customer specific requirements.
Discipline codes
In: APQP lifecycle
Approves and monitors suppliers, including foundries, assembly and test subcontractors and materials suppliers, flows customer requirements down, audits suppliers and develops those that need it.
Discipline codes
In: QMS lifecycle
The transducer layout is checked against the MEMS design rules and the multiphysics model, and the MEMS mask set is released for prototype wafers.
Gate codes
A periodic review decides whether to extend the technology with new options, reduce its cost, move it to new sites, or plan its successor and withdrawal.
Gate codes
Representative units built on the production process, with a reviewed type test plan agreed with the test laboratories and certification bodies, are ready for validation and type testing.
Gate codes
Everything needed for a significant production run at the planned rate is ready: production tooling and equipment, released test programs and fixtures, trained operators, production materials from approved suppliers and the pre-launch control plan in use.
Gate codes
In: APQP lifecycle
A gate that checks the technology is ready before the next commitment.
Gate codes
Used in: SoC lifecycle: Technology feasibility, SoC lifecycle: Tape-out technology readiness, SoC lifecycle: Qualification passed, Soft IP lifecycle: Technology feasibility, Soft IP lifecycle: IP verification sign-off, Hard IP lifecycle: Technology feasibility, and 71 more
Identifies assets and damage scenarios, describes threat scenarios and attack paths, rates impact and attack feasibility, determines risk and records treatment decisions, and keeps the TARA current as the design and the threat landscape change.
Discipline codes
Gate and discipline codes are plain initials chosen for the Hub's charts, not any company's internal codes. Standard names belong to their publishers; the guides explain them in our own words. Missing an abbreviation? Suggest one.