IP release: gate review pack

1. Purpose of the gate

This gate closes the IP lifecycle for a version of the block. It releases a complete, versioned package to the SoC teams and locks it: the released version no longer changes, and fixes come in a new version. It is an engineering release gate on the IP engineering track: the block the SoC teams integrate is the engineering deliverable, and from here it is in use and the IP team's commitment shifts to support.

The gate checks three things. The package must be exactly the audited set, complete and versioned. The documentation must let an integrator use it without the IP team in the room: release notes, errata and the integration guide. And the support route must work, so that issues found during integration and in silicon reach the people who can act on them.

The release is also where reuse is set up. The version label, the supported configurations and the manifest are what later programs refer to when they choose this block, and what the IP team refers to when a fix must reach every program that took the affected version.