Analysis and Recommendations for Developing Integrated Airport Information Systems (2008)

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Appendix D D-1 PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW LIST – ACRP 01-03 Carter Morris, Senior Vice President, Transportation Security Policy, AAAE and Spencer Dickerson, President, Training and Technical Services Division, AAAE Question Rationale Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems otherwise known as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Are there aviation standards for communicating data between software systems at an airport. Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date? Are there any standardized naming conventions for airports similar to airlines? (e.g., airports use and call a fee for passenger getting on the airplane many different things such as a passenger fee or an enplaning fee or public use fee?) For example, IATA has a ground handling manual that sets an industry benchmark, recognized worldwide, for information processes and flows (for example to ensure equipment names are consistent and that ground handling of an airplane follows consistent procedures). MAGSA has something similar for aviation service providers (vendors). Do you know of anything similar to this for an airport, aside from what IATA has already published? Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date. Is there any document that you know of that details out what the key data elements are for the functional areas of an airport and the business critical information that a manager would want to know? If so, can you point us in that direction? Additional validation of the key data elements and business critical information we have developed. In your experience, based on how involved the AAAE is in integration standards, what are the pros and cons of integration for small to medium airports? What are the benefits and negative aspects? We did not find anything on integration on pros and cons to small and medium airports and this would help us validate. During your work with airports of all sizes, have you seen significant differences in what airport consider business critical information that seem related to the size of the airport? Validate business critical information and determine if this differs by size. What are the most significant IT software integration issues you have encountered or that have been relayed to you by airport managers? Determine state of the industry and lessons learned. During the work you led on the Registered Traveler common platform, what lessons were learned that might help airports integrate their systems? Determine lessons learned. Recommend two airports that we should consider interviewing about their successes in integrating data or their IT innovations. Determine gaps in our interviews. What integration issues have been the primary concerns of airports? Determine state of the industry. From your work with airports, what are the things that have worked in the area of data integration? What efforts have failed, and why? Determine lessons learned. In the course of developing the web based training programs at AAAE what difficulties did you encounter and how were they solved? Transfer lessons learned from other fields. Has AAAE developed any studies or “white papers” that would assist an airport in IT integration? In benchmarking airport business metrics? In developing specs for procurement of IT systems? Identifying gaps in our research.

Appendix D D-2 Richard (Dick) Marchi – Senior Advisor, Center for Policy and Regulatory Affairs – ACI-NA Question Rationale Please recommend one or two airports we should consider interviewing due to their successes in the area of integration. To supplement our findings of model airports and ensure we have not missed one that is very progressive. What is the SITA and AIRINC involvement in the new XML standard? Are there any other standards? What is the difference between the new XML standard and other standards published by ISO and OASIS? Determine the rationale behind developing the XML standards and the benefits of the new standards that the taskforce is working on to the airport operator Are there any other integration technology standards for airports that you know about, aside from XML and CUPPS? Determine if there are integration standards that we did not find in our research. Have airports been able to create additional layers in the digitization of the physical properties of the airport to include such things as mechanical systems and their associated preventive maintenance requirements, electrical distribution systems and plumbing systems with online status monitoring? What airports have successfully integrated the engineering department's computer aided design capability with that of the real estate (Properties) division? Have any airports extended the Engineering Department CAD system to include maintenance activities. Determine if there is any new integration technology being explored that we have not uncovered. As it relates to the field of civil engineering, what packages have been used with success by airports for managing a Capital Improvement Program? Are there any that come to mind which integrate the traditional Program Management function with the airports overall Financial Management System? These areas update the Capital Improvement Program to the budget to create an actual real time working plan We have done a lot of research worldwide regarding integration. Who do you think are the top three countries that are most advanced? Why? Get feedback to validate our international data. What are your thoughts on which systems generate the highest return on investment, and improve the deliver of business critical information and the efficiency for small to medium airports? Validate scalability. Is the XML standard being tested on the legacy systems and how successful has that been? Determine compatibility. Thomas Romig - Manager Airports IT – ACI World Question Rationale Have you seen other airports, aside from DIA, developing their own integration standards? Find out if we have missed any airports successfully implementing integration standards. What other airports are “tinkering with their own little boxes” that is customizing their integration? What have been the successes and lessons learned? Determine if there are more lessons learned we can add to our findings. What is the progress of the CUPPS system? How widely received is it? Determine the status of the CUPPS integration? What are the benefits of CUPPS—particularly to small, medium, or non-common use airports? Determine the particular benefits foreseen for CUPPS. Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems otherwise known as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Are there aviation standards for communicating data between software systems at an airport? Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date?

Appendix D D-3 Question Rationale Are there any standardized naming conventions for airports similar to airlines? (e.g., airports use and call a fee for passenger getting on the airplane many different things such as a passenger fee or an enplaning fee or public use fee?) For example, IATA has a ground handling manual that sets an industry benchmark, recognized worldwide, for information processes and flows (for example to ensure equipment names are consistent and that ground handling of an airplane follows consistent procedures). MAGSA has something similar for aviation service providers (vendors). Do you know of anything similar to this for an airport, aside from what IATA has already published? Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date. Is there any document that you know of that details out what the key data elements are for the functional areas of an airport and the business critical information that a manager would want to know? If so, can you point us in that direction? Additional validation of the key data elements and business critical information we have developed. In your experience, based on how involved the ACI is in integration standards, what are the pros and cons of integration for small to medium airports? What are the benefits and negative aspects? We did not find anything on integration on pros and cons to small and medium airports and this would help us validate. John Belcher - CEO – ARINC Question Rationale Please describe the different products that you offer to airports. This is a “warm up” question to get them comfortable talking to us. ARINC is working on the Task Force for Industry XML data integration standards. Is ARINC working on other similar industry data integration technologies? Learn what other industry standards may be coming. What changes should airports expect as a result of the introduction of these standards? Learn what other industry standards may be coming. Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems otherwise known as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Are there aviation standards for communicating data between software systems at an airport? Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date. Are there any standardized naming conventions for airports similar to airlines? (e.g., airports use and call a fee for passenger getting on the airplane many different things such as a passenger fee or an enplaning fee or public use fee?) For example, IATA has a ground handling manual that sets an industry benchmark, recognized worldwide, for information processes and flows (for example to ensure equipment names are consistent and that ground handling of an airplane follows consistent procedures). MAGSA has something similar for aviation service providers (vendors). Do you know of anything similar to this for an airport, aside from what IATA has already published? Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date. Is there any document that you know of that details out what the key data elements are for the functional areas of an airport and the business critical information that a manager would want to know? If so, can you point us in that direction? Additional validation of the key data elements and business critical information we have developed.

Appendix D D-4 Question Rationale In your experience, based on how involved the ACI is in integration standards, what are the pros and cons of integration for small to medium airports? What are the benefits and negative aspects? We did not find anything on integration on pros and cons to small and medium airports and this would help us validate. How would SITA and ARINC benefit from an "airport XML standard"? Throughout the typex white paper, the XML schema specifications are mentioned, would these be considered mostly for "airline legacy systems"? The quote below indicates the open protocol would immediately benefit the newer applications, why? How does this apply to an airport’s architectural infrastructure? “The Air Transport Industry (ATI) will reap several specific benefits of the new technology as it is adopted over time as a future replacement for Type B messaging. Key benefits will most immediately accrue to new applications, and then eventually to legacy applications as they migrate to newer platforms. “ Determine vendor benefits to developing XML standards when they have their own standards. What is the difference between this "new XML standard" and the other standards already published by ISO and OASIS? Why reinvent the wheel? Is this open standard better than the others or just built more on an aviation standard? Determine the differences between industries and the standards that they set. Robert Duncan – Director - Indianapolis International Airport Question Rationale What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned. Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the integration of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness. What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems? If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration.

Appendix D D-5 Question Rationale When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual processes still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection. John Newsome - Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Chair of ACI-NA IT Committee Question Rationale What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection.

Appendix D D-6 John D. Clark, III, A.A.E. Executive Director Jacksonville Aviation Authority Question Rationale What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned. Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the integratiblity of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems? What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection.

Appendix D D-7 Stacy Hollowell – Siemens - Airfield Solutions Question Rationale You offer an IT package for small to medium-sized airports that includes a basic version of an AODB with interfaces to SITA and airlines. Airlines are known for their legacy systems. Have you successfully integrated day-of-operation flight information from major US airlines such as AA, UA, DL, CO or NW into your AODB? Determine whether an airport can expect to integrate major airline real time operating information into Siemens’ AODB. There is a Task Force for Industry XML data integration standards underway. Have you worked with airports that have successfully used XML to extract data from your systems? Determine whether XML will extract data from Siemens systems. Have you successfully integrated your Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (SMGCS) with a major US airport’s automated gate management system? Determine whether SMGCS will work with a gate management system at a busy airport. What data elements can be handed off from your Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (SMGCS) to an airport’s Financial Management Systems? Determine whether the SMGCS can track all airline arrival and departure information and hand it off for billing landing fees. William L. Flowers - V.P. Information Technology Services Dallas – Ft. Worth International Airport, Member of ACI Information Technology Committee Question Rationale You show four predominate systems in your PowerPoint presentation (Human Capital Management [HCM] diagram, financial diagram, budget and forecasting diagram, asset management diagram). Are all of them integrated within themselves and also integrated within each other? If yes, did you write your own import/export or integration technology language to move the data or solutions in and out of the systems or did they automatically integrate with each other? What standards did you use? Did you create standards yourself (as DIA has done)? We want to find out how the systems are integrated and what technologies are used. It is beneficial to other airports to share information, especially about standardization and integration processes. The PowerPoint refers to a Dallas Dashboard. What is this dashboard? How did you develop it? Determine if the dashboard is what we may do in the handbook. If so, we can use this as an example. If not, we have an indication that others use the term dashboard differently than we do. Have you been directed, as the VP of information technology services to deliver business-critical information to a manager’s dashboard? If so, what would be the top five items most important to the senior management at Dallas International Airport? Validates our priorities for the business critical information without forcing Mr. Flowers to read through the voluminous amount of materials we have gathered. Based on your experience with these very expensive enterprise systems, what would your recommendation be for small medium airports—what advice would you give to integrate systems? Help us learn what the benefits are through the perspective of a larger airport—and gain the benefit of his experience at a larger airport and the amount of integration Dallas has done. You indicate that there is budget and forecasting in your document. In other studies, we noticed that Dallas is trying to accomplish real-time budgeting. What is the status of this? How are you doing this? Real time budgeting is vital to airports. Airports currently update their budget maybe once a year, but a continuously updated budget would allow for real time adjustments. The budget then becomes a living document, reconciling to real time. We found that there passenger fees are self reported by airlines. Have you found a way to collect this by yourselves in real time? This is a manual process at most airports, and we are looking for best practices.

Appendix D D-8 Question Rationale Do you get flight schedules in advance? Do you match your budgets to these advance schedules? If so, where do you get these and how far in advance do you get this information? Do you have a direct data feed to the FAA? If so how do you use this and integrate this into your systems. We want to know which is manual data and which is automated. We are looking for solutions to self- reporting, manual processes for passenger fee calculations. What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection. Jeff Hamiel - Executive Director, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis – St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission Question Rationale What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned. Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the integratiblity of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness.

Appendix D D-9 Hardy Acree - Director of Airports, Sacramento County Airport System Question Rationale What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned. Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the integratiblity of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness. What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection.

Appendix D D-10 Tom Dominico - Director IT – Logan International Airport Question Rationale What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection. Thella F. Bowens - CEO and President – San Diego International Airport Question Rationale What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned. Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the integratiblity of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness.

Appendix D D-11 National Flight Data Center Question Rationale What are the basic data that you share? Validate source of information What format do you share information in? Validate standards for transmitting data What standards of information sharing do you practice and have you promoted? Validate integration strategies. What do you see as the future for using your data? For providing real time flight information? Help develop the vision for the handbook. What successes have you had in sharing this information? Determine lessons learned and effectiveness of data sharing. Why did you develop this information? What was the triggering need for this information? Determine benefits of data sharing. How do you envision people using this information? Determine uses of information. Duane Habeck – President – Airport Integrated Systems Question Rationale Your methodology incorporates data relating to 300 airport business processes. What are these processes? Are these integrated processes? What has your assessment been? Have you found any gaps in business processes. Overall, how have these been integrated? Validate our findings on business processes. What business and operational activity delivers business critical information to an airport? Validate our findings on business critical information. Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems, otherwise known as an Application Programming Interfaces API. Are there aviation standards data standards for communicating data between software systems in an airport? If so, do you use any of these standards? What technology do you use (e.g., XML)? Determine what standards there are and what is being used for integration technology. Do you use any particular strategies to integrate? Validate our findings on integration strategies. Jeffrey Shull - Vice President of Airport Solutions – Air Transport IT Services Question Rationale What business and operational activity delivers business critical information to an airport? Validate our findings on business critical information. Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems, otherwise known as an Application Programming Interfaces API. Are there aviation standards data standards for communicating data between software systems in an airport? If so , do you use any of these standards? What technology do you use (e.g., XML)? Determine what standards there are and what is being used for integration technology. Do you use any particular strategies to integrate? Validate our findings on integration strategies. The AODB indicates that it works "best" with "our own modules but has been designed for expansion and integration into the airports existing system architecture” Can you explain how? What technology and strategies are you using for integration into other systems? Determine scalability of systems and how open the open architecture is. Determine the strategies used for operational databases. We notice that you also connect to external applications such as SITA, CUTE or EDIFACT. How do you do this? Are you using an XML technology to do so? Determine integration methods and strategies of the airport operational database.

Appendix D D-12 Question Rationale What technologies are you using to pull the data out of the airline legacy systems and into your systems? What is the benefit of this to an airport (e.g., feed flight information display, get financial information)? Third party legacy Systems include: ¾ Airline Systems ¾ Handling agents ¾ Administration ¾ Building Mgmt. ¾ ERP ¾ Security, etc. Identify integration technology for legacy systems. On the diagram "AODB AirIT" you show a "middleware software." Do you provide this or is it provided by an outside vendor? Why do you use a middleware software? Determine if there are third parties involved in integration with an airport operational database. (Is there always going to be a middleware?) Where have you seen redundant data collection and manual data collection and how does your system solve this? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data. Terry McNicholas – Executive Vice President – InfoTrust Question Rationale What business and operational activity delivers business critical information to an airport? Validate our findings on business critical information. Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems, otherwise known as an Application Programming Interfaces API. Are there aviation standards data standards for communicating data between software systems in an airport? If so, do you use any of these standards? What technology do you use (e.g., XML)? Determine what standards there are and what is being used for integration technology. Do you use any particular strategies to integrate? Validate our findings on integration strategies. Can you explain how? What technology and strategies are you using for integration into other systems? Determine scalability of systems and how open the open architecture is. Determine the strategies used for operational databases. Have you seen standards for integration technology and strategies in the airline industry that could benefit the airport industry? Determine if there are gaps in our findings. Randall H. Walker – Director of Aviation - Clark County Department of Aviation Question Rationale What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned.

Appendix D D-13 Question Rationale Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the Integrability of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness. Samuel G. Ingalls - Assistant Director, Information Systems – Clark County Department of Aviation - Member of ACI Information Technology Committee Question Rationale In the interview (Joachim 2003) you said you had a direct feed from the FAA into the airlines’ flight system. This indicates that some of the flight monitor display information may be controlled through the FAA data feed. Are you still using this data feed, and what information do you get from that (e.g., flight, tail) and what format do you get it in (e.g. XML) Validate how and when other airports can benefit from this information. Use the experience of a larger airport to determine the benefits and how to get this information for small to medium airports. Aside from arrival and departure time from originating city, what information do you glean from the direct data feed from FAA? Validate sources of information. Does your gate management system feed into your rates and charges or lease management system and into your cost accounting system to bill your customers? Determine if McCarran has accomplished a true integration. McCarran has a direct socket from Southwest United from their flight schedules to download flight schedules into a common use flight information display system and a common use gate management system. How did the data transfer? (e.g., Did you write an interface program? Did you write an ODBC system? Are you using an XML standard? Did the software company write it?) How difficult was this integration? Determine if other airports can use the same techniques. Determine if a small, medium, or large airport could accomplish the same thing with other airlines or if it would be too arduous. Why did you buy Passur? Determine the advantages of buying a system over using the FAA information which is free. Your gate management system has a maintenance feature and Maximo has a maintenance function. Are you using both? If so, how do they work together and if not, why did you purchase both? If you could have purchased a scaled back gate management system without these maintenance functions, would you have done so? Determine why airports buy systems that have dual functionality and why they abandon parts of some of the original solution (e.g. too much complexity or not enough functionality). Show small to medium airports that buying a system with a minimal amount of functionality may be preferable to buying systems with dual functionality. McCarran is the forerunner for setting the standard for CUPPS (including wiring and infrastructure at an airport). What prompted you to do this? What pain did you experience that sent you in this direction for standardization? How did you rally champions for this standard. Determine rationales and methods of getting champions for new standards. If you could list the five most important lessons learned from the technology side of implementation, what would they be? Determine the most important practices for integration. With all of this integration, did you consider the top five business critical information pieces that Randall Walker would want on his desk every morning. Determine whether integration processes consider business critical information.

Appendix D D-14 Question Rationale What other ideas for standards and integrating software do you have? (e.g., medical industry has common use language to transfer data from system to system that is recognized worldwide—would you see a benefit to this in the airport industry? If so, what would those benefits be? Determine the future needs for standards and what current or future actions will be taken for standardization. Who should we interview at IATA who could provide insights into the state of integration and standards? Determine if there is someone at IATA who it would be worthwhile to interview. What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection. Dave Ruch - Director of Information Systems Minneapolis – St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission Question Rationale In 2000, Northwest hired Airtransport IT services to bring in an integrated airport system, including a gate management system and a FIDS system. What is the status of this? The first phase consisted of an airport operational data base, a flight scheduling system, and public FIDS system. A gate management system was added. What happened? For example, what happened to equipment and inventory processing? Determine if a tenant based airport without a lot of common use facilities changes to a common use airport, This will provide insights on how to handle transitions to common use for smaller and medium sized airports. What are your primary systems and subsystems that you use to process data? Validate our systems and subsystems findings. Based on your experience with a major carrier bankruptcy, would you structure your IT differently? Validate our lessons learned. What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration.

Appendix D D-15 Question Rationale What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection. Alan Burgess - SITA Question Rationale Your methodology incorporates data relating to 300 airport business processes. What are these processes? Are these integrated processes? What has your assessment been? Have you found any gaps in business processes. Overall, how have these been integrated? Validate our findings on business processes. What business and operational activity delivers business critical information to an airport? Validate our findings on business critical information. Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems, otherwise known as an Application Programming Interfaces API. Are there aviation data standards for communicating data between software systems in an airport? If so, do you use any of these standards? What technology do you use (e.g., XML)? Determine what standards there are and what is being used for integration technology. Do you use any particular strategies to integrate? Validate our findings on integration strategies. The AODB indicates that it works "best" with its "our own modules but has been designed for expansion and integration into the airports existing system architecture. Can you explain how? What technology and strategies are you using for integration into other systems? Determine scalability of systems and how open the open architecture is. Determine the strategies used for operational databases. SITA is working on the Task Force for Industry XML data integration standards. How will airports benefit from these industry standards? Determine benefits of integration. What changes should airports expect as a result of the introduction of these standards? Determine lessons learned and effectiveness of standards. Other industries have been working on standards of communication between types of systems otherwise known as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Are there aviation standards for communicating data between software systems at an airport. Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date? Are there any standardized naming conventions for airports similar to airlines. (e.g., airports use and call a fee for passenger getting on the airplane many different things such as a passenger fee or an enplaning fee or public use fee?) For example, IATA has a ground handling manual that sets an industry benchmark, recognized worldwide, for information processes and flows (for example to ensure equipment names are consistent and that ground handling of an airplane follows consistent procedures). MAGSA has something similar for aviation service providers (vendors). Do you know of anything similar to this for an airport, aside from what IATA has already published? Determine if there are any gaps in our data collection to date.

Appendix D D-16 Question Rationale Is there any document that you know of that details the key data elements are for the functional areas of an airport and the business critical information that a manager would want to know? If so, can you point us in that direction? Additional validation of the key data elements and business critical information we have developed. In your experience, based on how involved the ACI is in integration standards, what are the pros and cons of integration for small to medium airports? What are the benefits and negative aspects? We did not find anything on integration on pros and cons to small and medium airports and this would help us validate. How would SITA and ARINC benefit from an "airport XML standard"? Throughout the typex-white_paper, the XML schema specifications are mentioned, would these be considered mostly for "airline legacy systems". The quote denoted below indicates the open protocol would immediately benefit the newer applications, why? How does this apply to an airports architectural infrastructure? “The Air Transport Industry (ATI) will reap several specific benefits of the new technology as it is adopted over time as a future replacement for Type B messaging. Key benefits will most immediately accrue to new applications, and then to eventually to legacy applications as they migrate to newer platforms. “ Determine vendor benefits to developing XML standards when they have their own standards? What is the difference between this "new XML standard" and the other standards already published by ISO and OASIS? Why reinvent the wheel? Is this open standard better than the others or just built more on an aviation standard? Determine the differences between industries and the standards that they set. Louis Miller - Executive Director, CEO – Tampa International Airport Question Rationale What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned. Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the integratiblity of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness.

Appendix D D-17 Question Rationale When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems? What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. Have you created your own integration language or systems. If so what and how is this working out? Why did you create your own? What were the roles of vendors? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection. Robert Kastelitz- Director of IT and Jim Miller, Manager of IT – Denver International Airport – Joint Interview Question Rationale What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced in integrating your systems? Validate our information and findings. You have created your own integration language in XML for your flight management system. How have you revamped your flight management system? Why did you create your own language for this integration? What was the role of vendors in this process? Which systems and subsystems are involved in that integration? Find out what airports have done in integration. When airports purchase a system that already has the functions of another system, why purchase the other system (e.g., purchasing a gate management system which already contains a maintenance function in that gate management system, why then purchase a maintenance system)? Determine the value of overlapping systems. If you were to give a small to medium airport advice, what would be the top five things? Fill in gaps for small to medium airport integration. What do you think of information technology standards? Are you aware of any? Validate our findings. If there were integration technology standards, how would these benefit the airports overall? Validate our findings. What is the status of your document management system? Is it fully integrated? Does it assist in some of the manual processes? What are these manual processes? Validate our findings on manual processes.

Appendix D D-18 Question Rationale What manual process still exist in the airport? Where do you see redundant data collection? How would you address these areas? Validate our findings on manual and redundant data collection. What efforts have you made to make the operations log accessible to senior management on their desktop? Validate state of the industry and lessons learned. What lessons did you learn from your project to integrate your work order, inventory control, and finance systems? Validate findings on lessons learned. What improvements have you seen from your efforts to integrate? Have they been effective for your airport? Determine effectiveness of integration efforts. Jeffrey Fagen - CEO – Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Question Rationale What are the top 5 business critical information pieces that you want to see on your “Dallas Dashboard” Validates our priorities for the business critical information without forcing Mr. Fagen to read through the voluminous amount of materials we have gathered. Why are you doing all of this integration? What was the pain threshold that led you to this integration? What were the five “pain levels” or problems that led you to invest in integrating? Determine rationales for integrating. Did you change business practices when implementing this integration? If so, what and how were these identified? Determine overall impact of integration. Did you involve your stakeholders? If so, how? Determine best practices for developing champions for implementing integration. What successes have you had and what are the challenges ahead? Determine lessons learned, pitfalls, and best practices for integration. What are the areas of information that you need to make critical business decisions? Validate the business critical information we have identified and fill in gaps. What systems and sub-systems do you use to process data into business-critical information? Validate systems and subsystems and how they work together. Where are the key metrics that you use to measure how your airport is functioning: its efficiency, productivity, operations or financial health? Validate that we have identified all the key metrics. What are your top priorities for business-critical information? Validate the business critical information and determine priorities of business critical information. What deficiencies have you identified in the systems and procedures in place at your airport for collecting, processing, analyzing and reporting of your business critical information? Validate and increase our knowledge of lessons learned. Do you have a success story or best practice you would like to share in this regard? In the area of integration? Validate and increase our knowledge of best practices. Determine state of the art in the industry. Have you and/or your staff identified areas of redundant data collection or data entry or manual data collection which could be eliminated with an improvement in the integratiblity of systems? Validate our identification of redundant and manual data collection. What information would you want on a desktop “dashboard” to help you make quicker, more informed business decisions? Validate priorities of business critical information and develop our handbook to ensure its ultimate usefulness.