When Technical Solutions aren’t Enough: Using Software Concepts to Analyse Challenges at Delivery Processes between Mixed-Signal IC Team Members

Scientific works on integrated circuits usually focus on technical challenges and contribute to improving the solutions. They often neglect intertwined social aspects that highly impact project success, as shown in recent Software Engineering research. This work is a case study to identify challenges in delivery processes between digital and analog disciplines on mixed-signal projects at a specific design house, considering technical and social perspectives. We performed 17 semi-structured interviews and examined the available process documents, analyzing the data using Socio-Technical Grounded Theory. We mapped 14 constructs, 13 propositions, and two explanations to identify those challenges faced by mixed-signal teams. This study contributes to the discussion of social aspects of Semiconductor’s scientific works and presents a list of possible delivery challenges in the context of the focal company. The proposed root causes are the incipient specification processes and the lack of practices related to collaboration in cross-functional teams. Requirement Engineering and DevOps studies provide insights to define implications for improvement in the organization.