Chapter 5: Program Management

The delivery of timely and worthwhile research results requires a strong focus on project administration and management. In the last two years, the ITS JPO has diligently implemented a set of oversight and management activities to guide the accountability of the initiatives and to ensure the delivery of maximum value for its research dollars.

The ITS Program is designed to have a multimodal presence and to function collaboratively with modal administrations within the Department. The ITS Program management and leadership structure reflects these values with a multilayered, multifunctional approach to oversight, guidance, and direction. To ensure that the ITS Program optimizes its funding, leverages all relevant and appropriate research and market opportunities, conducts its activities in the most effective manner, and provides maximum value to its stakeholders, the ITS JPO adopted three management principles in 2007 to guide the Office’s daily activities:

Instill excellence in project management.
Provide thought leadership for the Department and for industry.
Collaborate closely with modal partners, stakeholders, the private sector, and academia and research institutions.

5.1 Excellence in Project Management

Within the ITS JPO, many measures and controls are in place to ensure that performance goals, both programmatic and financial, are measured and achieved:

Weekly, ITS JPO leadership briefs the RITA Administrator on the status of high-profile activities undertaken by the Program.
Monthly, ITS JPO initiative managers submit status reports to update the Director on the costs, schedules, and performance of individual research programs. In addition, staff provide the Director with monthly updates on the status of critical deliverables under their purview.
Tri-annually, staff report to the Director for formal project review and auditing of costs, schedules, and performance.

The ITS JPO is in the process of instituting a Project Management Office (PMO) to provide a more formal project management oversight structure for the ITS JPO research program. This will maximize return on government research investments while supporting the strategic goals of DOT and RITA. The PMO will assist ITS JPO project managers with enterprise-level oversight of the costs, schedules, and performance of ITS programs, projects, and major initiatives. The PMO will be responsible for providing enterprise-level technical assistance to ITS JPO project managers in defining programmatic research outcomes and measures; developing corresponding project management documents; collecting systematic, uniform performance data; analyzing and reporting results in a clear, concise format; and providing management recommendations based on overall program performance indicators and program metrics.

5.2 Thought Leadership

As the role of technology expands and shows substantial potential to positively impact transportation, it is essential that the ITS JPO staff embrace a forward-looking approach to research. This includes remaining current on emerging technology trends and research in universities, in the private sector, and internationally. Further, JPO staff must be attuned to the needs of stakeholders and trends in commercialization. JPO staff work closely with thought leaders in the transportation industry in order to keep current with the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in their respective areas of expertise. In addition, the resource of the ITS ProgramAdvisory Committee provides the ITS Program and JPO staff with solid information and feedback from within the transportation industry and outside it. With this grounding, the JPO can provide Departmental leadership in technology research.

5.3 Collaboration

The ITS JPO was created with an operating model centered on collaboration with the modes and modal administrators. The concept is to execute research in coordination with modes that have subject-matter expertise and strong relationships with specific public and private stakeholders. This increases the likelihood of successful research that moves into deployment and commercialization. The ITS JPO achieves its collaborative approach through the ITS Management Council, the ITS SPG, and close working relationships at the staff level.

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