Data Validity Debug: Review Checklist

Review checklist

Review Checklist for Data Validity Debug focuses on invalid sample bursts, clipping incidents, stale-data escapes. The goal is to connect observed symptom to boundary mechanism, ownership, and signoff risk.

• Boundary assumptions are versioned and signed.

• Mode matrix (power/clock/reset/stress) is explicit.

• Physical context (floorplan/package/power) is included where relevant.

• Metric and artifact references are reproducible.

• Waivers have owner, expiry, and mitigation.

• Owners signed: signal-processing owner, RTL owner, system validation lead.

Sign-off ownership

OWNERSHIP MAP — Data Validity Debug

artifact                  owner
----------------------    -----------------------------
integration artifact    signal-processing owner
implementation artifact RTL owner
signoff artifact        system validation lead

Every boundary issue needs a named owner before fixes start.

AMS deep dive

Wrapper and sampling contracts determine data trustworthiness.

Concept diagram

CONVERTER DATA FLOW

sampling clock -> wrapper -> sync boundary -> system consumer

Metric graph

INVALID SAMPLE BURSTS

time --->  _|¯¯|__|¯¯¯|____|¯|_

Reports and artifacts

• sample validity ratio

• calibration convergence

• CDC audit

• overflow/stale sample counters

Mini case study

Mode transition changed sample phase and invalidated wrapper framing assumptions.

Debug branches

• Sample timing contract

• Calibration hook behavior

• Wrapper CDC integrity

Senior review question

Ask: what boundary condition proves this topic is actually closed?

Key takeaways

• State boundary, mode, and evidence tag with every claim.

• Always align analog, digital, and physical owners before signoff decisions.

Common pitfalls

• Fixing averages while tails still fail.

• Skipping package/supply evidence in jitter or SerDes issues.

• Shipping with waivers that lack owner and expiration criteria.

Principal AMS review addendum

Data validity must combine framing correctness, saturation/overflow signaling, and synchronization sanity so software trusts converter samples.

Metric: invalid sample bursts, clipping incidents, stale-data escapes