Organizing for TSMO
Case Study 1: Business Processes – Optimizing Existing Planning and Implementation Processes with TSMO

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Historically, transportation agencies have managed congestion primarily by funding major capital projects that focused on adding capacity to address physical constraints such as bottlenecks. Operational improvements were typically an afterthought and considered after the new infrastructure was already added to the system. Given the changing transportation landscape that includes increased customer expectations, a better understanding of the sources of congestion, and constraints in resources, alternative approaches were needed. Transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) provides such an approach to overcome these challenges and address a broader range of congestion issues to improve overall system performance. With agencies needing to stretch transportation funding further and demand for reliable travel increasing, TSMO activities can help agencies maximize the use of available capacity and implement solutions with a high benefit-cost ratio. This approach supports agencies' abilities to address changing system demands and be flexible for a wide range of conditions.

Effective TSMO efforts require full integration within a transportation agency and should be supported by partner agencies. This can be achieved by identifying opportunities for improving processes, instituting data-driven decision-making, establishing proactive collaboration, and developing actionable activities to develop processes that optimize performance.

Through the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2), a national partnership between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the Transportation Research Board, (TRB), a self-assessment framework was developed based on a model from the software industry. SHRP2 developed a framework for agencies to assess their critical processes and institutional arrangements through a capability maturity model (CMM). CMM uses six dimensions of capability to allow agencies to self-assess their implementation of TSMO principles¹:

1. Business processes - planning, programming, and budgeting.
2. Systems and technology - systems engineering, systems architecture standards, interoperability, and standardization.
3. Performance measurement - measures definition, data acquisition, and utilization.
4. Culture - technical understanding, leadership, outreach, and program authority.
5. Organization and workforce - programmatic status, organizational structure, staff development, recruitment, and retention.
6. Collaboration - relationships with public safety agencies, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), and the private sector.

Within each capability dimension, there are four levels of maturity (performed, managed, integrated, and optimized), as shown in Figure 1. An agency uses the CMM self-assessment to identify their level of maturity in each dimension, to determine their strengths and weaknesses in each dimension, and determine actions they can take to improve their capabilities.

Purpose of Case Studies

In the first 10 years of implementation of the TSMO CMM, more than 50 States and regions used the tool to assess and improve their TSMO capabilities. With the many benefits experienced by these agencies, FHWA developed a series of case studies to showcase leading practices to assist other transportation professionals in advancing and mainstreaming TSMO into their agencies. The purposes of the case studies are to:

• Communicate the value of changing the culture and standard practices towards TSMO to stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Provide examples of best-practices and lessons learned by other State and local agencies during their adoption, implementation, and mainstreaming of TSMO.

These case studies support transportation agencies by showing a wide range of challenges, opportunities, and results to provide proof for the potential benefits of implementing TSMO. Each case study was identified to address challenges faced by TSMO professionals when implementing new or expanding existing practices in the agency and to provide lessons learned.

Identified Topics of Importance

Business processes are a key component to integrating TSMO within an agency because they establish procedures on how to conduct business, identify resource needs, and clarify the vision and mission of an organization. The agencies highlighted for this case study established TSMO business processes through identification of needs in each of their respective agencies.

Interviews

Agencies were selected for each case study based on prior research indicating that the agency was excelling in particular TSMO capabilities. Care was taken to include a diversity of geographical locations and agency types (departments of transportation, cities, and metropolitan planning organizations) to develop case studies that other agencies could easily relate to and learn from. Interviews were conducted with selected agencies to collect information on the topic for each case study.

Description of Business Processes

Business processes include specific, structured activities or tasks and related decision points that are needed to deliver a TSMO program successfully.² This dimension includes:

• Planning - Inclusion of management and operations strategies in transportation planning.
• Programming - A defined TSMO program with clear and organizationally supported vision, mission, goals, and objectives.
• Budgeting - Dedicated resources to support management and operation strategies, both project specific and inside the organization.
• Project Development - The process by which projects are selected and developed to improve transportation conditions. Inclusion of TSMO strategies in existing project development processes manuals.
• Implementation - Action items to carry out specific strategies, projects, or programs.

Business processes are included in each of the three elements of TSMO plans: strategic, programmatic, and tactical. Strategic business process elements set the framework for how TSMO will be conducted in an agency. They set a clear definition of what the agency wants to accomplish through defined vision, mission, goals, and objectives. Programmatic business processes look at day-to-day activities and revise existing processes and protocols for TSMO integration. Finally, tactical refers to deployment or implementation of TSMO activities, projects, or services. Example tactical business processes include development of financial plans, TSMO implementation plans, and prioritization processes for project or service deployment. Business processes and how they are executed vary among agencies and regions.

A primary function of business processes is to foster the organizational shift to include TSMO strategies in transportation planning. Traditional transportation planning has primarily been project-focused, including a list of desirable projects, costs, and available funding for construction. Integrating TSMO into the existing planning process optimizes an agency's performance through inclusion of projects and services that reap a higher benefit-cost reward.

TSMO planning goals should align with existing planning goals of the region or agency, such as improved mobility, reliability, and safety. To integrate TSMO into the existing planning process, existing protocols and processes should be evaluated such as:

• Funding allocation.
• Project selection.
• Asset management.
• Staffing.

Revising existing long-range transportation planning processes to include management and operation projects and services-for example, incident management, integrated corridor management, and evaluating alternative construction methods-mitigates mobility, reliability, and safety issues in the short-term, maximizes the utility of infrastructure, reduces capital costs, and takes the greatest advantage of capital investments.

More specifically, adjusting allocation of funding through TSMO budgeting would reserve transportation dollars for both corridor improvements and back-of-house transportation management operators or other management and operational staff.

MPOs play a critical role in developing regional transportation plans. State and local transportation agencies should work closely with MPOs to revise or make additions to regional planning initiatives and budgets to include TSMO.