Architecture

Regional ITS Architecture Process Workshops (2-day)

Workshop Overview

This 2-day workshop will equip ITS professionals with the tools to develop their own regional ITS architecture, by helping them to prepare a customized, draft Action Plan to guide them through the process in their region. "Champions" and key stakeholders from each region will participate, and each workshop will include from one to four regions. The discussions will relate closely to the Regional ITS Architecture Guidance Document, and will address both technical and institutional issues that they may encounter during the process. This document may be accessed at http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/regitsarchguide/index.htm. The workshop will be conducted in "roundtable" format, with extensive discussions of situations specific to the people at the table. This will allow the exchange of ideas with other regions in attendance. Participants are expected to be knowledgeable about local ITS as well as their region's planning processes. Participants would benefit from being familiar with the National ITS Architecture. The champion(s) from each region will leave the workshop with a customized, draft Action Plan, which they will then use as a "roadmap" to develop their own regional ITS architecture. It needs to be made clear that this is not a training course, but an interactive workshop.

To schedule a workshop, contact your FHWA Division Office ITS representative or contact Emiliano Lopez at FHWA Headquarters.

Workshop Preparation Activities

To maximize workshop benefits, the following questions should be addressed by the attending regions in advance of the workshop:

What is the geographic scope of the region? The answer to this basic question drives many of the decisions made during and after the workshop. A region could be defined as the metropolitan planning area (MPA), cities, counties, statewide, corridors, a defined service boundary (e.g. transit services, toll authorities, tourist area, etc) or special conformity boundary (e.g. air quality). The definition of a region is a local decision.

Workshop suggestion: It is highly recommended that a preliminary definition of the region be made early in the preparation process so core (or key) stakeholders can be identified and invited to the workshop. For more information regarding the definition of a region, see section 3.2 of the Regional ITS Architecture Guidance document.

Who can serve as a champion(s) for developing the region's architecture? A champion(s) is an individual (or group of individuals) who will lead the regional ITS architecture development. A Champion's skills include:

• Vision for interconnectivity, partnership and regional integration
• Knowledge of local ITS systems and projects
• Understanding of the subject (regional ITS architecture including familiarity with the National ITS Architecture)
• Consensus builder (facilitator), and
• Executive level access to resources to gain support for various regional efforts.

The skill level necessary will vary depending on the maturity of the region. A region may have multiple champions identified from different agencies or stakeholder groups.

Workshop suggestion: It would be highly beneficial for a region to have identified the champion(s) before the workshop. The champion will understand their role throughout the workshop and would be motivated to develop a comprehensive action plan for post-workshop activities. For more information regarding champions, see section 3.4 of the Regional ITS Architecture Guidance document.

Who are the core (or key) stakeholders? They are the organizations that will play an instrumental role in the development of the regional ITS architecture. They should be a diverse group with representation from major transportation agencies/organizations, planning and system operators. Core stakeholders should be people that plan, own or operate ITS systems in their region. They may include representatives from an MPO, traffic operations department of a DOT, state planners, local traffic engineers, transit operators, and emergency management organizations.

Workshop suggestion: Getting the right attendees from the region is the most important point of preparation that a region can make. The workshop has a limit of 10 representatives per region, but for most regions, the ideal number is 5–6 representatives. You should identify the individuals that will benefit from learning the ITS architecture development process in order to support post-workshop activities. Remember, you will be leaving the workshop with a draft action plan, not a draft version of your regional ITS architecture. For more information regarding stakeholders, see section 3.3 of the Regional ITS Architecture Guidance document.

Participant Preparation

In order for the workshop to be most useful to the regions attending the following preparation by each region is highly recommended:

1. Participants should obtain a copy of the Regional ITS Architecture Guidance Document (EDL #14317) [HTML, PDF, 6.9MB] and familiarize themselves with its contents.

2. Identify any ITS Inventory or Services that have already been documented and bring a copy of the document to the workshop. This might be an existing ITS Strategic Deployment Plan or Early Deployment Plan.

3. Identify three planned projects that will have ITS elements. Bring a description of each project if available.

4. Obtain National ITS Architecture training. While the workshop does not assume all attendees have National ITS Architecture training, this knowledge will greatly assist attendees in understanding the end goal of developing their regional ITS architecture. Contact the FHWA Architecture Field Services Team through the FHWA Division office to arrange for basic architecture training. A free web-based training course entitled "Introduction to National ITS Architecture" is available through CITE.

5. Workshop benefits need to be articulated to the stakeholders. Stakeholders may have multiple job responsibilities and not understand why they should dedicate 2-days to a workshop on the regional ITS architecture development process. For many stakeholders, educating them on the goals and requirements of the ITS Architecture and Standards rule/policy could provide the motivation for attending the workshop.

Updated: October 9, 2008 4:14 PM