6. Summary and Conclusions
This section summarizes the events and lessons that were learned from the GLITS project management experiences from 2002 through early 2007. For the GLITS Airport ITS Integration project, two events had a significant impact on the project and consequently led to deployment delays. First, the formation of an independent airport authority complicated the planned allocation of funding for the Airport ITS project. As a result, a delay occurred when negotiations were required to clarify how the GLITS funding would be administered. Second, the change in leadership resulted in a change in project leadership positions within the Wayne County Roads Division. In addition, the changes in project management, personnel changes, and a loss of project champions also likely contributed to delays in the deployment.
For the GLITS RIMS project, three events had a significant impact on the project and resulted in the deployment delays. First, a change in leadership and transfer of project to WCDT slowed the development effort and RFP process while the project is reviewed and integrated with other WCDT plans. Second, vendor selection and a formal protest by non-selected vendor delayed the procurement while due diligence was conducted to select the best combination of vendors and handle the protest in accordance with State and County procedures. Finally, negotiations between the vendors and Wayne County to adjust cost and the SOW resulted in an additional delay.
Three primary lessons were developed based on the GLITS project management experiences from 2002 through early 2007. The lessons are:
- Develop a project champion succession plan within participating organizations to avoid orphaning a project.
- Delays in finalizing funding arrangements can lead to delays in executing contracts.
- Recognize that deployment delays can lead to a ripple effect of challenges that affect project deployment progress.
Although the national evaluation of the GLITS Airport ITS Integration and RIMS projects did not yield quantitative system impacts results, it has resulted in some important lessons that could be shared with stakeholders across the country.