Processor Evaluation Workflow Document
Purpose
This document defines the workflow for evaluating and selecting processors for the EV charger project. It is intended to guide a consistent down-selection process for both the real-time control board and the upper control board.
Scope
This workflow applies to:
- Real-time control board processor evaluation
- Upper control board processor evaluation
- Cross-board compatibility review
- Final processor freeze decision
Workflow Overview
- Define board-specific processor requirements and commercial constraints
- Build the shortlist of candidate families and devices
- Apply hard-gate elimination criteria including package assembly and lead-time viability
- Score remaining candidates using weighted technical, commercial, and assembly criteria
- Review cross-board architectural fit
- Assess implementation, sourcing, lead-time, cost, and assembly risks
- Select recommended candidate and backup candidate with explicit commercial and manufacturability positions
- Freeze processor choices after exit criteria are met
Phase 1: Requirements Baseline
Inputs
- Project requirements and architecture
- Real-time board I/O allocation
- Upper control board I/O allocation
- MCU selection requirements
- Processor comparison checklist
- MCU shortlist evaluation matrix
- Processor down-selection scoring sheet
Actions
- Confirm the processor role for each board
- Confirm required peripherals, timing, memory, and communications needs
- Confirm required safety, debug, reset, and update capabilities
- Confirm package, lifecycle, and supply-chain constraints
- Confirm target cost range, comparison quantity or annual volume basis, and cost sensitivity
- Confirm acceptable lead-time window and sourcing assumptions
- Confirm package assembly constraints such as pitch, package family preference, assembly capability, rework risk, and inspection limits
Outputs
- Frozen processor requirement baseline for each board
- List of unresolved assumptions affecting processor selection
- Defined cost, lead-time, and package assembly acceptance criteria for the evaluation team
Phase 2: Candidate Shortlisting
Actions
- Identify candidate processor families for the real-time board
- Identify candidate processor families for the upper board
- Ensure each candidate is realistic for package, availability, lead time, assembly flow, and development flow
- Exclude candidates that obviously violate architecture or board-level constraints
Outputs
- Real-time board shortlist
- Upper board shortlist
- Candidate metadata table including package, indicative cost, lead time, and assembly notes
Phase 3: Hard-Gate Screening
Hard-Gate Categories
- Required ADC/peripheral coverage
- Real-time control capability
- Required communication interfaces
- Required memory minimums
- Debug/programming support
- Package and PCB feasibility
- Lifecycle and sourcing viability
- Lead-time acceptability
- Package assembly acceptability
Actions
- Mark each candidate pass/fail for hard-gate items
- Remove any candidate failing a hard-gate requirement
- Record elimination reasons for traceability
- Explicitly fail candidates that cannot meet project package assembly capability or lead-time constraints unless approved as research-only references
Outputs
- Reduced shortlist with documented eliminations
Phase 4: Weighted Technical Scoring
Scoring Categories
- Real-time performance fit
- Analog and ADC fit
- Communications fit
- Memory and firmware growth margin
- Toolchain and platform fit
- Package and PCB implementation fit
- Availability and lifecycle fit
- Cost fit
- Lead-time fit
- Package assembly risk
- Sourcing risk
- Future growth and integration headroom
Actions
- Score each surviving candidate using the approved scoring sheet
- Record evidence supporting each score
- Identify categories with major uncertainty or missing evidence
- Score cost using an explicit quantity basis and note any price-break assumptions
- Score lead time using dated source evidence and note whether the source is distributor, manufacturer, or broker-derived
- Score package assembly risk using project assembly capability, board density expectations, escape complexity, and rework practicality
Outputs
- Ranked candidate list for each board
- Evidence-backed score table with technical, cost, lead-time, and assembly positions
Phase 5: Cross-Board System Fit Review
Actions
- Review whether the chosen real-time and upper-board processors create unnecessary integration risk
- Compare debug flows, programming flows, and firmware maintenance burden
- Confirm board-to-board communications support remains clean and practical
- Confirm processor choices do not create avoidable complexity in clocks, supplies, or PCB escape
Outputs
- Cross-board compatibility review notes
- List of system-level tradeoffs
Phase 6: Risk Review
Risk Categories
- Firmware implementation risk
- Analog measurement risk
- Timing/control risk
- Package and PCB risk
- Availability and lifecycle risk
- Cost risk
- Lead-time risk
- Package assembly risk
- Documentation/tooling risk
- Future feature expansion risk
Actions
- Identify top risks for each candidate
- Assign mitigation ideas where possible
- Compare primary candidate vs backup candidate
- Distinguish between acceptable risk, mitigated risk, and unresolved blocker for cost, lead time, and package assembly
Outputs
- Risk register for shortlisted candidates
- Primary and backup recommendation set
Phase 7: Recommendation and Down-Selection
Actions
- Select the preferred candidate for the real-time board
- Select the preferred candidate for the upper board
- Select at least one backup option for each board
- Record the reasons for recommendation
- Record the commercial position for each recommendation including cost, lead-time, and package assembly status
- Record any conditions required before final freeze
Outputs
- Recommendation summary
- Preferred and backup processor choices
- Open items to resolve before freeze
- Decision record that explicitly states cost fit, lead-time fit, and package assembly fit for each recommended candidate
Phase 8: Freeze Gate
Freeze Criteria
- All hard-gate checks passed
- Weighted scoring completed and reviewed
- Cross-board fit reviewed
- Major implementation risks understood
- Package and pin-count margin accepted
- Supply-chain and lifecycle reviewed
- Cost position accepted
- Lead-time position accepted
- Package assembly risk accepted
- No unresolved blocker remains for schematic capture
Actions
- Hold processor freeze review
- Approve processor selection for schematic entry
- Update project documentation if processor choices change the architecture
- Confirm that the evidence log, scoring sheet, and shortlist matrix are aligned on cost, lead time, and assembly conclusions
Outputs
- Frozen processor selection
- Processor freeze decision record
Recommended Working Artifacts
- Candidate shortlist table
- Hard-gate screening table
- Weighted scoring sheet
- Evidence log
- Risk register
- Recommendation summary
- Freeze decision checklist
- Commercial and assembly snapshot for each candidate
Review Roles
Suggested Review Participants
- System architect
- Hardware lead
- Firmware lead
- Compliance or certification reviewer
- Procurement or sourcing reviewer if available
Decision Rules
- Do not select a processor only because it is familiar if it fails key growth or integration needs
- Prefer candidates with evidence-backed fit over assumptions
- Keep at least one backup candidate until schematic capture is stable
- Avoid freezing processors before critical board-to-board and peripheral assumptions are stable
- Do not recommend a preferred candidate if cost, lead time, or package assembly risk remains unbounded without explicit acceptance by the project team
- Prefer candidates with dated sourcing evidence and clear assembly feasibility over candidates that only win on nominal technical score
Project-Specific Notes
- The real-time control board should prioritize deterministic control, measurement, safety inputs, and charging state-machine support
- The upper control board should prioritize communications, serviceability, update handling, and protocol growth
- Board-to-board interface decisions such as UART vs CAN can affect processor selection and should be resolved before final freeze
Exit Criteria
This workflow is complete when:
- A preferred and backup processor are identified for each board
- The scoring and risk review are documented
- Open questions affecting processor selection are either resolved or explicitly accepted
- Cost, lead-time, and package assembly positions are documented for the recommended candidates
- The project is ready to move from processor evaluation into detailed schematic capture