POLICY AND ORGANIZATION GROUP
Triennial Self-Evaluation of Committee Activities
Committee Name and Number: Information Systems and Technology (ABJ 50)
Committee Chairperson: C. Douglass Couto (Doug)
Three-Year Period: April 15, 2009 to April 15, 2012
Date Prepared: July 6, 2009
1. Committee Scope:
A. When did your committee last consider the scope?
January 2009
B. Does the current scope statement accurately reflect your committee’s activities?
Should the scope be modified?
The current scope statement does accurately reflect the committee’s activities and should not be modified at this time. The committee continues to focus on the use of information technologies and their application to transportation problems, operations, and research. The committee will be asked to review the scope at the January 2010 meeting to adopt more current language about web technologies, social computing, and virtualization.
C. What changes are proposed and why are these changes necessary?
No changes are proposed at this time.
An update would make it more useful to those looking to partner or join the committee.
2. Committee Strategic Planning
A. Has your committee conducted strategic planning sessions? If so, please attach
results.
Strategic planning is a standing agenda item at each committee meeting. It is necessary to be sure the committee considers the rapidly changing environment and emerging technologies.
A special facilitated session was conducted at the committee meeting held in conjunction with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Subcommittee for Information Systems Annual Meeting on May 3, 2009 in Seattle, WA.
B. If you have not done strategic planning, what are your committee’s strategic
directions for the future?
We have done strategic planning and have identified strategic directions for the future.
They are:
1) Identify emerging technologies and promote research that encourages innovative approaches to using these technologies.
2) Identify and support the use of data analysis to improve safety, system operations, and security of our transportation systems.
3) Identify and support research on ways to integrate information technologies with other technologies being developed for use on a construction sites.
4) Study organizational structures and relationships that best support the use of technology to better operate our transportation systems such as partnerships with the traffic management centers.
5) Partner with the AASHTO Information Systems Subcommittee to maintain a tie to the State Transportation IT executives and seek ways to address their needs.
6) Promote the innovative uses of information systems and data to address the critical issues in transportation.
7) Partner with other TRB committees to include consideration of information system needs and data in addressing their functional areas.
8) Identify the data needs of transportation executives and determine the best tools for providing assessments, decision information, and trends. There is a growing need to more timely data sooner.
9) Place more emphasis on research needs of stakeholders and monitor progress of defined research activities.
3. Critical and Cross-cutting Issues
A. What are the key long term and emerging issues that your committee is tracking?
1) Addressing effective organizational structures and partnerships that are necessary to create a responsive IT organization within transportations agencies and address the challenges and opportunities from the trend toward consolidation of IT resources by State IT organizations.
2) Determining the best use of open source solutions when selecting IT tools and products. Adoption of a service oriented architecture or a hosted delivery solution shifts the responsibility for maintaining infrastructure to one of assuring service delivery.
3) Development of a recommended IT architecture for supporting transportation processes and policies.
4) Identifying the technologies and communications that support mobile activities such as traffic counters, bridge inspectors, road inspectors, and surveyors. There is also a growing need to support telecommuting for employee flexibility and continuity of business.
5) Dealing with the convergence of multiple technologies for supporting construction site efficiencies, the vehicle information integration efforts, safety and security concerns, and data analysis with exponential increases in the amount data being collected. There is a growing issue with managing and storing this data.
6) Understanding how advances in communication technologies improve and challenge the way IT is used in a connected organization.
7) Understanding how social networking technologies can support the communication needs both internally and externally of a transportation organization.
8) Understanding the challenges and opportunities of how web technologies support an open government by making data readily available to anyone at any time.
B. What plans do you have to address cross-cutting issues with other committees?
1) Partner with the Construction Management Committee (AFH10)
to create a joint subcommittee to support the IT in Construction Management activities.
2) Partner with the Committees on Application of Emerging Technology for Design and Construction (AFH 30), Construction Management (AFH 10), Strategic Management (ABC 10), Technology Transfer (ABG 30), Library and Information Sciences (ABG 40), Geographic Information Science and Applications (ABJ 60), Visualization in Transportation (ABJ 95), Public Involvement in Transportation (ADA 60), Geospatial Data Acquisition Technologies in Design and Construction (AFB 80), Intelligent Transportation Systems (ABH 15) and Critical Transportation Infrastructure Protection (ABE40)
3) Partner with the committees working safety, security, and congestion, intelligent transportation systems, connected vehicles, and spatial issues to make better use of data and data analysis tools.
4) Partner with the private sector companies to seek their ideas about market directions and investments in emerging technologies.
4. Committee Activity Plans
A. What activities are planned next year to achieve your goals?
1) Workshop to promote use of information technologies to better manage construction. (This workshop is well attended and getting a six year following).
2) Include DOT CIO staff at annual meeting committee meeting (the DOT Deputy CIO is designated as a liaison to the committee; the DOT chief technology officer is a friend of the committee).
3) Conduct mid-year meeting and workshop with AASHTO IS subcommittee meeting to get input from DOT IT executives about their needs. Partner with AASHTO to promotes research needs. The TRB Committee meeting is now a regular program activity at the AASHTO IS Subcommittee meeting.
4) Create a subcommittee for research to promote and track committee research activities. Include a research report at each committee meeting.
5) Learn more about emerging technologies and how to deploy them.
6) Work with other TRB committees to be a resource to address IT technologies related to their activities.
6) Promote IT research needs, educational activities, and knowledge transfer.
B. What activities are envisioned in future years?
1) Partnering with research activities related to the application of restricted use and sensor technologies. Conduct a workshop at the annual meeting to promote a sharing of knowledge in this area. We are now getting about 75 attendees at this annual meeting workshop.
2) Promote research based on defined needs of stakeholders identified at the AASHTO IS Subcommittee meeting.
3) Focus more attention on research needs and ways to achieve a greater number of research activities. Educate committee members on how to write and submit research needs statements.
4) Develop more focused call for papers to generate interest, research, and sessions about current topics.
5. Committee Organization and Membership
A. Describe the membership gender and racial diversity.
Committee members represent diverse racial and gender groups.
B. How is membership distributed geographically?
Eastern 6 Central 68
Western 5 International 3
C. How is membership distributed across professional affiliation?
State Government 2 Federal Government 3
Education 10 Private Sector 2
Local Government 0 Nonprofit/Other 1
D. How many “friends” are associated with the committee?
E.
a. Friends from attending meetings : 92
b. AASHTO IS Subcommittee (DOT IT Contacts): 88
E. List subcommittees and their chairs.
1) Architecture directions and research, Ken Orr
2) Paper Reviews, Brian Smith
3) Research proposals, Joe Garvey
4) WEB page design and maintenance, TBD
5) Communication, Frances Harrison
6) IT for Construction Management, Ionnas Brilakis
7) Sensor Technologies and Data Analysis, Don Grayson
8) Improving IT Management in ITS, Mike Bousliman
6. Interaction with Other TRB Committees, Organizations, and Customers
A. List other TRB committees which your committee maintains a formal liaison or
representation:
1) Partner with the Construction Management Committee (AFH10)
2) Partner with the Committees on Emerging Technology for Design and Construction (AFH 30), Critical Transportation Infrastructure Protection (ABE40), and the Task Force on Training, Education, and Technology Transfer (ABE40(5))
B. List outside organizations which your committee maintains ongoing liaison
representation.
1) AASHTO Subcommittee on Information Systems
2) Federal DOT CIO staff
3) Federal DOT agency CIO’s
4) AASHTO Asset Management Committees
5) Public Sector CIO’s and CTO’s
6) ITS America CTO
7) Private Sector IT companies: Cisco, IBM, Oracle, InfoTech, Cambridge Systematics, Exor, Agile Assets, and ESRI have designated committee liaisons who attend committee activities as friends, There are also a number of smaller companies that follow committee activities.
C. List shared activities during the past year (examples should include work on
crosscutting issues, information exchange, research, etc.)
1) Information Technology for Construction Management Workshop at Annual Meeting
2) Call for Papers and Presentations related to Emerging Technologies for Transportation security
3) SHRP II Implementation Committee (provided a member)
4) Partnered with Geospatial community for the Sensor Technology Workshop
5) Emerging safety programs and associated data needs
6) Participated in the Geospatial Road Map Discussion
7) Participated in the Open Architecture Peer Exchange
7. Business Meeting Attendance (information from the most recent meeting)
A. Annual business meeting: Members 15 Guests 12
B. Summer business meeting: Members 8 Guests 17
8. Technology Transfer Activities for Colleagues and Customers
A. Is the committee planning to publish documents within the next two years?
(proceedings, circulars, etc.)
Please list and give anticipated dates.
1) No publications scheduled at this time
B. Workshops proposed.
1) Using Information Technology to Better Support Construction Management VII
2) Remote Sensing Technologies for Transportation Applications III
C. Conferences proposed.
1) Support the Geospatial Information Systems for Transportation Symposium (GIS-T)
2) Proposed a two day workshop and summary to capture the work being done in the remote sensing technology area. Plan to submit a proposal to the NCHRP.
C. Other activities (web pages, newsletters, updating of millennium paper, etc.)
1) WEB site for the committee is being updated to include presentations, research topics, and capture ideas
2) Explore the use of collaborative meeting tools to promote better participation by members and friends. The committee will explore sponsoring a webinar.
3) Committee members and friends participate in scans and studies as requested. There is an increasing demand for IT professionals to help with these activities to deal with information technology and data management issues.
9. Research Needs and Problem Statements (Of particular interest are problem statements
for TRB Cooperative Research Programs, but please list related activities your committee
is involved with as well.)
A. How do you determine and select research needs and problem statements?
(workshops, call for ideas, etc.)
1) Call for ideas from committee members, friends, and AASHTO IS Subcommittee
2) Brainstorm session at regular committee meetings
B. Number of Research Problem Statements currently under development?
4
C. Number of Research Problem Statements funded during last three years?
0
D. Are the statements available to the public (for example, posted on your website)?
Posted to the TRB Research Needs Data Base
10. General Remarks and Comments Offered by the Committee
A. Should your committee continue in its present form with its present title?
If no, please explain.
Yes
B. Should it be merged with one or more other committees?
If yes, please explain.
No
D. Any other comments considered appropriate by the committee.
1) The IT and data component needs to be actively considered in other TRB committee activities. The committee is available for advice and consultation with other committees wrestling with IT needs.
11. Annual Reports of Committee Activities (Please attach last three years of annual
reports and supporting documents).
Reports included below.
Template Last Revised: November 27, 2004
TRB POLICY AND ORGANIZATION GROUP
Annual Report of Committee Activities
Each year, TRB staff fills in items below from TRB databases for committee review and editing. The committee chair submits the Annual Report to the Section Chair by March 1 of each year.
Committee Name and Number: Information Systems and Technology (ABJ50)
Committee Chairperson: C. Douglass Couto
Year: 2009
1. Current Committee Scope: This committee is concerned with reviewing and assessing the state-of-the-art in the development and application of information systems and technologies in transportation for productivity improvements. Areas of emphasis are: system user interfaces, data management, and data sharing; web technologies and e-government; delineation and prioritization of research, development, and demonstration programs; encouragement of common semantics and standards in the transportation field; technology transfer among transportation organizations, vendors, and universities; and the impact of computer technologies on transportation organizations.
2. Committee Membership (See member distribution chart attached.)
- Number of members at current time.
1. Total 11
2. Young 2
3. Emeritus 1
4. International 3
3. Paper Review:
A. Number of papers reviewed during the last year 10
- Number of papers recommended for publication 1
4. Annual Meeting Sessions Sponsored (Lists of sessions for the last year are
attached.)
A. Number of paper or conference sessions at the last annual meeting 2
B. Number of workshop sessions at the last annual meeting 2
C. Number of poster sessions at the last annual meeting 0
D. Number of co-sponsored sessions at the last annual meeting 0
E. Number of published sessions at the last annual meeting 1
F. Number of unpublished sessions at the last annual meeting 0
5. Research Problem Statements (Problem statements submitted in last year are attached.)
A. Number of problem statements submitted last year _3_
6. List of Critical and Cross-Cutting Issues (Issues the committee plans to address are attached.)