Report Preparation

This course needs two reports. The first is the intermediate report which is due on Friday 2/5/2025 and the second is the final report due on Friday 20/6/2025. We have provided a TEX template which can be used for both intermediate and final reports. Please note that reports must be submitted in PDF format. While both reports share some common structures and chapters, the intermediate report should look like a proposal while the final report should look like a comprehensive report covering all activities that have been done throughout the course.

Notes:

  1. Please only use the provided template and avoid other templates, e. g. conference like reports.
  2. For consistency, please use this format for the file name pdp_final_report_group_XX.pdf.

Intermediate Report

The intermediate report is not optional and is delivered per group. It is meant to be a midterm status check and for providing you with feedback on your specific plans for the second phase of the project. Your report should contain the following items:

  1. Introduction which covers
    • Problem Statement: Briefly describe the baseline processor design, outlining its main features, strengths, and weaknesses.
    • Motivation: Explain the rationale behind your optimization proposal—what inspired your changes and how you identified opportunities for improvement.
  2. Background which describes relevant previous works.
  3. Hypothesis which covers your idea about the proposed RISCY_AES and/or LLVM extensions and other intended improvements. You must answer (at least) these questions: What, How, and Why?
  4. Plan which covers your plans on how to implement, debug and validate those. Please include
    • A detailed project plan (GANTT chart) for the second phase with internal tasks and milestones.
    • A plan for the obligatory AES instruction extensions and the loop-unrolling pass of the LLVM at the beginning of the second phase.
    • A plan for assigning team members to the tasks.
    • Your selection for a baseline to compare against (the state-of-the-art in your background section, or the default implementation are both valid baselines--when comparing to the state-of-the-art you are not necessarily expected to beat the state-of-the-art).
    • A plan on how to obtain the quantitative results needed to validate your claims.
  5. Individual contribution which lists the activities that have been done by each member of the group during the first phase.

Final Report

By the final day of the course, all student groups are required to submit their final report through BrightSpace. The report should be organized into four logically connected chapters, each building upon the previous, with clear transitions between them. The recommended structure is as follows:

  1. Introduction: Provide a concise overview of your entire project, addressing the following points:
    • Problem Statement: Briefly describe the baseline processor design, outlining its main features, strengths, and weaknesses.
    • Motivation: Explain the rationale behind your optimization proposal—what inspired your changes and how you identified opportunities for improvement.
    • Implemented Changes: Summarize the specific modifications made to the processor, highlighting their intended effects.
    • Main Results: Present the key outcomes and their implications.
    • Conclusions: State your principal findings in a few clear points.
  2. Motivation: Expand upon your initial analysis of the baseline processor, detailing the process you followed to identify its limitations. In this chapter:
    • Clearly explain why you selected particular optimization ideas and how you assessed their feasibility.
    • Justify your design decisions with reference to expected results and potential trade-offs.
    • Provide a comprehensive and descriptive account, going beyond the summary in the introduction.
  3. Proposed Solution: Present the details of your optimization and the specific changes implemented in your processor design. This section should:
    • Use diagrams and figures to illustrate new architectural components or modifications.
    • Describe your solution from the top level down, making it easy to understand the overall design and the placement of each new or modified component.
    • Emphasize components that require special implementation or unique approaches.
  4. Experimental Results: Report and analyze the outcomes of your modifications. For this chapter:
    • Present experimental results separately for each individual modification, as well as for combinations of improvements.
    • Compare the performance and resource costs of your enhanced design against the baseline and between different optimizations.
    • Include detailed results such as timing information, critical path analysis, resource utilization (e.g., from Vivado reports), and power consumption figures for all relevant designs.
    • Discuss key performance metrics, such as area (A), critical path delay (D), energy consumption (E), and any combined metrics you find meaningful.
    • Comment on the impact of each improvement, identifying which changes contributed most significantly to each performance metric.
  5. Conclusion: Summarize your work, main findings, and propose possible directions for future development. In your conclusion, address:
    • The initial plan and objectives.
    • Your expectations at the outset.
    • The actual results obtained, with reflections on any discrepancies between expectations and outcomes.

Supplementary Material

All supplementary materials, such as source code and scripts, must also be included and made available to facilitate further evaluation.

Additional Recommendations

Please take the following tips into account when preparing report files.

  • General Structure
    • Title Page: Include the project title, group members’ names and IDs, course name, instructor, and date of submission.
    • Table of Contents: Helps the reader quickly navigate the document, especially if it is long.
    • List of Figures and Tables: Optional, but useful if your report contains many diagrams and tables.
  • Within Each Chapter
    • Clear Section Headings: Use numbered headings and subheadings (e.g., 2.1, 2.2) for organization and clarity.
    • References: If you rely on any external sources, literature, or textbooks, include a references section at the end. Cite any tools (e.g., Vivado) and relevant documentation.
    • Appendices: Place detailed design files, long code listings, or extra data in appendices to keep the main report focused and readable. Refer to them in the main text as needed.
  • Specific Content Suggestions (in an Appendix)
    • Team Contributions: Briefly outline the contribution of each group member. This promotes transparency and it is required by the instructors.
    • Version Control: If you used a version control system (e.g., Git), mention this and summarize your workflow or any challenges encountered.
    • Design Challenges and Solutions: Consider adding a section or short paragraph reflecting on major obstacles faced during the project and how you overcame them.
    • Lessons Learned: Share key takeaways from the project—both technical and collaborative—which could be helpful for future students.
  • Presentation
    • Professional Formatting: Ensure consistency in fonts, spacing, and citation style. Number pages.
    • Clarity and Brevity: Aim for concise, clear writing. Use bullet points and tables where appropriate to present information efficiently.
    • Figure Quality: Use high-resolution diagrams and ensure all figures are clearly labeled and referenced in the text.
  • Final Checklist (Essential!)
    • Proofread the report for typos, clarity, and logical flow.
    • Double-check that all required results and analyses are included.
    • Ensure all files (PDF report, any required code, design files, etc.) are present in the zip archive.
  • Recommended Report Length
    • Main Report: Around 18–20 pages. This includes the Introduction, Motivation, Proposed Solution, Experimental Results, and Conclusion.
    • Appendices: Unlimited (as needed) which are used for:
      • Extensive Vivado reports
      • Large tables of raw data
      • Detailed code listings
      • Supplementary diagrams
    • Front Matter (Title page, ToC, etc.): Not counted in the main page range above.
  • Breakdown by Section (as a guideline)
    • Introduction: 1–3 pages
    • Motivation: 2–4 pages
    • Proposed Solution: 3–6 pages (more if complex, with figures/diagrams)
    • Experimental Results: 4–7 pages (including tables and discussion)
    • Conclusion: 1 page
  • Tips:
    • Focus on clarity and depth rather than just length.
    • Use diagrams and tables to communicate efficiently.
    • Do not pad sections unnecessarily—concise, well-explained points are better.