1. ITS World Congress Presentation
San Francisco, California, USA
07 November 2005
David E. Pickeral, JD
Addressing the Policy Cycle—
Educating legislators and decisionmakers about ITS
5. 4
Analysis—What is Needed, What is Possible?
Activities include user needs assessment, preliminary academic study, and
baseline engineering research—or further developments on data derived
from prior-generation operating systems (the previous “cycle”)
Standards development bodies are often contemplated or initially convened
Two-way communications are particularly critical to understand stakeholder
needs
Education helps propel the decisionmaking process toward achieving—
– Lowest cost
– Greatest immediate impact
– Farthest-reaching effects
6. 5
Consensus—Passing the “Gatekeeper”
Typically, this is the phase in which
decisionmakers are asked to commit
substantial resources toward development
Many technology applications will fall by the
wayside before ever becoming viable
Stakeholder buy-in must occur in this phase
if actual work is to begin
– Which technology to use
– What services are a priority
– What is the “best of breed” solution
– How will government, industry, and public
priorities best be served
The nature and function of the technology is substantially defined but a decision is required
Education efforts must support that decision by helping decisionmakers to determine—
– Value proposition to industry
– Public benefit
– Return on investment for all parties
7. 6
Implementation—Hitting the Road
Projects become products
Attempts to influence the actual deployment
decisions for a particular technology are largely
futile
– Public and/or private resources have been
committed for the long term
– Actual system construction and equipment
deployment is under way
The cycle is completed and begun again
– Best practices and lessons should be
documented
– These feed the next round of development
9. 8
Analysis Case History—Understanding Urban Versus Rural Considerations
How to choose the best
provider
Limited spectrum
High capacity
requirements
High noise floor,
interference, and
multipath
Issue
Urban
Cost and reliability
More spectrum planning
required (frequency reuse);
may limit applications
May impact deployment—more
complex roadside devices
Poorer propagation will limit
range; RF studies will be
important
Impact
Backbone
Spectrum
Capacity
Propagation
Parameter
May limit deployment, increase
costs, and limit network
connections. Low power needed
with solar energy
Minimal
infrastructure
available
Minimal spectrum planningSome spectrum
overlap only
Minimal impact on deployment—
simpler roadside devices
N/A
May need to conduct RF studies
where obvious interference sources
exist
Natural
interference
sources only
ImpactIssue
Rural
10. 9
Economic and business factors affect
decisions with standards very early in the
process and continue throughout the
lifecycle
Performance, cost, and time-to-
implement tradeoffs are inevitable.
Process begins with a need based on
business and economic drivers
Adjustments made to standards to—
– Ensure fair and full competition
– Balance COTS-based solutions with
customized specifications
– Focus on performance-based language
– React to business and economic factors as
they arise
Analysis Case History—Economic Business Factors
Planning
Establish Standards
Committee and
Working Group
Specification
Development
Test and
Verification
Prototypes
Modeling and
Simulation
RQMT
Analysis
Concept of
Operation
Specification
Adoption Economic
Business
Factors
11. 10
• Capital and operating costs
• Region-specific benefits
• Potential for incremental or
phased deployment
• Security, failure modes, liability issues
• Maintainability and reliability of
equipment
• Backward compatibility…and flexibility
for accommodating future changes
State and Local Transportation Agency Concerns
Federal-Level Concerns
• State DOT organizational
structure and decisionmaking
processes
• Supporting IT systems
• Existing wireline and landline
infrastructure
• Existing traffic control processes and
sophistication
Analysis Case History—Understanding Government Stakeholder Priorities
