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CHAPTER 4 Project Approach In this phase the project team addressed the development of tools to provide access to best practices to mitigate challenges faced on projects involving transportation agencies and railroads. Having both the railroad and transportation agencies involved was important to the success and final objective of the R16 project. To ensure this goal was met, the project team worked at engaging both parties from the initial stage of the project. The project team took into consideration that transportation agencies as public agencies and railroads as private organizations have very different business objectives. They differ in their perspectives on project timelines and in how they approach the planning and delivery of projects. In addition, with downsizing, retirement, promotions, and new hires, the subject matter expertise and knowledge of personnel working on projects varied across states. The team took an iterative approach to working on the project, engaging the stakeholders and building each step on the previous step. The first step was conducting a survey to obtain input from transportation agencies and railroads about the topics to consider in developing the training and the types of material to include in the virtual library. Feedback from the survey provided valuable information about the interests, priorities, and expectations of the stakeholders. The team analyzed and summarized the survey information, which was then shared with the members of the community of interest (COI). The next phase of the project was to outline the lessons and identify major categories of library resources. A review group was created that consisted of some new members from transportation agencies along with members from the established COI. Additional representatives from the railroads that were already part of the COI were also included in this review group. The group thus had representation from multiple tiers of stakeholder types. The steps and considerations taken to delineate the lessons and establish the virtual library are outlined below. Balancing obtaining stakeholder input with time constraints. With the intent of creating a balance between the need for feedback and respecting the time constraints of the senior executives in the review group, two documents with course information were developed. One was a high-level outline and the second had additional details. Both documents were circulated to members of the review group. This practice allowed the senior executives to review the outline and forward the more detailed information to other personnel in the organization for input. Input to content. The feedback was incorporated, and detailed content was developed for the web-based training lessons. The content considered the diversity and the differing interests of the users and categorized lessons to make it easy for users to locate topics of interest to them. Peer testimony. One of the goals of the training was to disseminate information and catalyze the adoption and implementation of the project innovations for DOTârailroad projects. 9
Studies have shown that peer testimony is important to the adoption and implementation of innovations. Using the strategy of advancing practices through peer-to-peer communication, the team included video clips of discussions and perspectives on best practices shared by various transportation agency and railroad personnel in the lessons and the library. The training and library include examples of innovations implemented by peer DOTs that should expedite the propagation and adoption of various best practices. Practical solutions from peers. The content focused on practical solutions that could be adopted and implemented by stakeholders to solve problems and make improvements. Most of the examples cited and the lessons emphasized are based on actual examples from the transportation agencies and railroads. The experiences and perspectives of experts from the federal and state transportation agencies and railroads have been tapped and translated into lessons and video clips so that peers can relate to the experience and understand the reasoning behind the approaches discussed in the lessons and resources provided in the library. These sources of information focus on the nature of various challenges and practical ways to tackle them. Functionality focus. Functionality was an important aspect of the lesson design. The intent was to allow users to have multiple ways to access the materials from multiple devices over the Internet. Clarity of content. Each lesson shows clearly the topics covered and the targeted audience. This information allows those new to the field of railroad and agency projects to engage in the basic foundational training important for understanding the issues, while a veteran with limited time can skip such lessons. Users can easily and quickly locate topics of critical interest to them. Lessons designed to be self-paced. The lessons are flexible to allow learners to pursue specific areas of interest, and they are designed to allow learners to access content and work at their own pace. The training considers different approaches to adult learning. When appropriate, it includes conversational styles to convey the different perspectives of the DOTs and the railroads. Links and suggestions at the end of each lesson allow users to access additional materials pertinent to the lesson topic. Quick access to materials. The training was developed in a modular fashion covering topics that range from introductory information to detailed agreements. The training was compartmentalized to allow busy users to choose topics of interest to them. The design and presentation of materials in the web suite (also referred to as the Collaborative Solutions Suite) developed during this phase of the project make it easy for users to access lessons of interest without having to go through materials that are not of interest to them. The design of the library provides users multiple ways to search and access materials and then view them on the site or download them to their devices. Product preview and product training. The project team conducted several GoToMeeting sessions with members of the review group to provide a preview of the products and explain the components, structure, and content addressed in each of the products. 10
Web product testing and feedback. The project team engaged the review group in reviewing the products and providing feedback on the content, design, and overall experience of the library and the lessons in the Collaborative Solutions Suite. To make it easy for reviewers to provide feedback, the team included plugins at the end of each lesson and on the main page of the library. For internal facilitation purposes, the team developed an early form of an agreement builder. A discussion forum was also established for reviewers to participate in, brainstorm, and provide feedback. Users were also provided the ability to provide feedback on the preliminary version of the agreement, as well as on the library and lessons. Feedback incorporated. The feedback received from the review group was reviewed, and appropriate changes were made to the products. Heterogeneous users. The virtual library designs considered the needs of a variety of users with varying levels of expertise. Several access options, including text search, selecting categories on a category navigation tree, and use of a tag cloud, are available to provide ease of access to library materials. Seamless access between lessons and library. The design of the Collaborative Solutions Suite was intended to make navigation between the library and the lessons seamless to the user. Many of the lessons have links that will take users to the library. This feature allows users to access additional material from the library and learn additional details on topics of interest to them. The project team worked closely with all the stakeholders to gather examples of practices, agreements, and other pertinent resources for inclusion in the virtual library. Through all phases of the project, care was taken to ensure that both transportation agencies and railroads were involved and both sides contributed productively and felt that their perspectives and interests were represented in the products. Overall, the review group had representation from multiple tiers of the stakeholder groups. Over 45 users from transportation agencies and railroads reviewed the Collaborative Solutions Suite products (library and the lessons) and provided feedback. 11
