Office of Operations
photos of traffic merging onto congested highway, congestion in snowstorm, variable message sign, cargo, variable speed limit sign in a work zone, and a freeway at night
21st century operations using 21st century technologies

Business Process Frameworks for Transportation Operations

Business Process Frameworks for Transportation Operations

Capability Maturity Frameworks Overview

Capability Maturity Frameworks are concepts with roots from the software development industry and the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is widely used for various applications in the Information Technology world.

Capability Maturity brings together an approach to review common barriers to adoption and success of Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO). The frameworks allow for a rigorous common understanding and improvement of institutional issues that an agency faces on a continual and consistent basis.

By understanding and using a capability maturity framework, agencies can:

  • Develop consensus around needed agency improvements
  • Identify their immediate priorities for improvements
  • Identify concrete actions to continuously improve capabilities to plan, design, implement TSMO

Consistent with the AASHTO Guidance, capability for agencies are described in the same six dimensions.

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

For each of the dimensions, the same four levels of capability are used in the framework as well:

  • Level 1 - Activities and relationships largely ad hoc, informal and champion-driven, substantially outside the mainstream of other DOT activities
  • Level 2 - Basic strategy applications understood; key processes support requirements identified and key technology and core capacities under development, but limited internal accountability and uneven alignment with external partners
  • Level 3 - Standardized strategy applications implemented in priority contexts and managed for performance; technical and business processes developed, documented, and integrated into DOT; partnerships aligned
  • Level 4 - Full, sustainable core DOT program priority, established on the basis of continuous improvement with top level management status and formal partnerships

By following a structured process, agencies can self-identify their current and desired levels of capability for each dimension.