Concept for an e-Transit Reference Enterprise Architecture (2004)

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32 CHAPTER 4 PHASE II RESEARCH PLAN A draft of the Phase II research plan for the development of an e-transit reference enterprise architecture is provided be- low. The tasks are based upon the discussion of the systems engineering process and enterprise architecture in Chapter 3. These tasks are the minimum tasks that result in a usable e-transit reference enterprise architecture. 4.1 TASK 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND DETAILED RESEARCH PLAN This task provides for all project refinement, manage- ment, and monitoring activities during the Phase II effort, including project initiation; the development of the detailed Phase II research plan, schedule, and budget; any required con- tract actions as called for during the project; continued mon- itoring of project performance; and preparation of progress reports. The contractor will facilitate an initial kickoff meeting or conference call with the TCRP staff officer and project panel to discuss the project goals and expectations. Managers and key staff assigned to the project will participate in the kick- off meeting. The contractor will take notes and prepare a summary of the key points discussed. The detailed research plan will provide the specific ap- proach, methods, and deliverables for each task and provide an overall staffing plan, budget, and schedule for the Phase II effort. It will also • Identify potential experts from transit and other industries that are candidates for participation in working groups and/or focus groups; • Identify methods for information collection (e.g., using interviews, site visits, and survey strategies by phone, Internet, or in person); and • Describe the approach for ongoing interaction and collaboration with the TCRP J-08 e-Transit Project Panel. Progress reports will be prepared and delivered in a man- ner consistent with the TCRP procedures as modified by the overall TCRP contract for this work. Task 1 deliverables include • Technical Memorandum: Kickoff Meeting Summary; • Detailed Phase II Research Plan, Costing, and Schedule; and • Progress Reports. 4.2 TASK 2: TCRP RESEARCH DIGEST SUMMARY OF CONCEPT PAPER (OPTIONAL) This is an optional task to be carried out at the request of the project panel and the TCRP staff officer. The final concept paper may be useful and have merit to the transit community in and of itself. Consequently, a sum- mary version of the final concept paper may be developed that is suitable for publication as a TRB research digest. This will also allow for timely release of the principles and con- cepts prior to the completion of overall effort in Phase II. Task 2 deliverables include • TCRP Research Digest: Concept for Development of a Reference e-Transit Enterprise Architecture Using Sys- tems Engineering. 4.3 TASK 3: COLLABORATION FORUM AND PARTICIPANTS As discussed in Chapter 3, a key component of this project is the participation of experts from transit, IT, and other industries. This task will therefore finalize the approaches and methods to be used for collaboration throughout the project and the online collaboration, working group, and/or focus group members who have agreed to participate in the effort. The final recommendations and participant lists will be provided as a technical memorandum. Mitretek will establish and monitor an online collabora- tion forum for the project. The forum will be used to share project documents and materials, provide feedback and dis- cussion on draft products, and discuss emerging e-transit concerns and issues. Potential options include TRB’s Web- Board forums, the APTA online forums, a member-only Yahoo group, or similar tools. Task 3 deliverables include • Technical Memorandum: Collaboration Approach and Participants and • Online Collaboration Forum.

4.4 TASK 4: TRANSIT INDUSTRY INFORMATION COLLECTION This task provides for the collection and analysis of infor- mation from the transit industry. It includes • Review of literature and ongoing parallel efforts from the transit industry, • Final refinement of the data collection plan, • Development of survey instruments and other collection tools, • Collection of transit industry information, and • Compilation and analysis of the information. The contractor will perform a literature review that will cover the sources of information (as discussed in Chapter 3), including past TCRP reports and syntheses; the APTA IT surveys; the annual ITS deployment tracking surveys; the APTA e-business activities; papers and presentations from the annual APTA TransITech conferences; the National ITS Architecture and related standards activities; the Transporta- tion Security Administration and FTA transit security pro- grams; and ITS transit and e-transit activities reported in professional journals, conferences, and trade publications. Mitretek will deliver the results of the literature review in a technical memorandum that documents the e-transit state of the practice and emerging potential applications. The contractor will update and refine the data collection plan and schedule as part of the Task 2 detailed research plan using information from the literature and parallel research review and survey instruments or other data collection tools developed. The updated plan and schedule will be provided for review in a technical memorandum. It is anticipated that the data collection may include the following: • E-mail query/online survey (transit agencies; online forums; APTA, the Community Transit Association of America, and TRB committee members; and industry representatives); • Transit agency phone interviews (15 to 20); • Transit agency site visits (3 to 5); and • Collaboration working and focus group sessions (as called for). The e-mail query/online survey will be used to identify high-level business functions, e-transit applications, inte- grated services, and interactions with transit customers and the general public, other state and local agencies, the private sector, or the federal government that are part of current or planned transit operations across the country. The phone interviews, site visits, and working group/focus sessions will collect more detailed information on how the transit agency’s activities are carried out. The data collected will identify the current business func- tions, processes, and organizational structures found in tran- sit agencies across the country and how they may differ by 33 agency size, modes operated, or other characteristics. The information collection will also identify the e-transit appli- cations being used, or planned for, by both typical and pio- neering transit agencies. In addition, unique e-transit appli- cations, examples of business process re-engineering efforts, business-oriented IT strategic planning, and/or enterprise architectures for transit agencies will be identified and cap- tured in the analysis. Data collection and analysis will continue as needed throughout the development of Task 6 and Task 7. Task 4 deliverables include • Technical Memorandum: Final Data Collection Plan, Survey Instrument(s), and Schedule and • Technical Memorandum: e-Transit State of the Practice and Emerging Transit Applications. 4.5 TASK 5: EMERGING e-CONCEPTS The contractor will identify existing and emerging e-business and e-government applications from other industries and eval- uate their potential adaptation and use by transit to meet one of the goals of the overall J-09 e-transit project. The con- tractor will perform a scan and review of other industries to identify emerging e-concepts to incorporate into the To Be “Transit of the Future” scenario within the e-transit reference enterprise architecture. Special attention will be given to the industries and applications most closely related to transit, including • Related transportation industries (e.g., air, trucking, rail, and overnight delivery services), • Fleet management and maintenance, • Road and bridge asset management and maintenance, • European experiences in reinventing transit, • Construction and project management, and • Military logistics. However, there are also a number of other areas where e-concepts with potential application to transit are also being developed. Examples include • e-Government and enterprise architecture developments by other local, state, and federal agencies, especially the U.S. DOT and Transportation Security Administration enterprise architectures and e-government services; • The medical and health insurance industries (e.g., mobile data entry, online customer services, and distance-based diagnostics); • Trends and advances in IT and mobile computing in general; and • The entertainment and online gaming communities (e.g., interactive collaborative applications and simu- lations).

The contractor will first conduct Internet searches, scans of trade publications, and a literature review. This will include reviewing material from e-government, IT, and industry- tracking online communities and e-zines, as well as searches of Gartner and other industry-tracking services. It will also include the more traditional review of reference databases, journals, and conference proceedings. Following the literature review, the contractor will facili- tate one or more focus group sessions and/or working group meetings to further explore potential concepts. These brain- storming efforts will attempt to bring experts from both tran- sit and other industries together in a synergistic way to eval- uate the concepts that have been identified and to identify new concepts. The contractor will summarize the results of this task in a technical memorandum. A report that merges and summarizes the results from both Tasks 4 and 5 will also be produced. Task 5 deliverables include • Technical Memorandum: Emerging e-Concepts from Other Industries with Potential Transit Applications and • Summary Report: e-Transit State of the Practice and Emerging Potential Applications. 4.6 TASK 6: e-TRANSIT CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS A concept of operations is used to describe the system being developed, what the users want it to do, and how it is expected to operate. It typically includes • Description of the system and its operating environment (e.g., boundaries), • User needs describing what the users of the system want it to do, • Operating policies and constraints, • Modes of operation (e.g., normal and emergency), and • Operational scenarios that illustrate how the system will operate. The concept of operations, therefore, provides the highest layer, or scope and context, of the enterprise architecture. The contractor will develop the concept of operations de- tails that will be used as a basis for creating the e-transit ref- erence enterprise architecture. The concept of operations re- fines the overview provided in Chapter 3 and includes the following: • Definition of e-transit (finalize). • Final description of the As Is “Transit Today” scenario. This scenario captures the business purposes, functions, and operations of a typical regional transit agency of today operating in a large urban area. The scenario may include multiple transit modes (e.g., rail, bus, and para- 34 transit) and also have other transit agencies operating in its region. • Final description of the To Be “Transit of the Future” scenario. The To Be “Transit of the Future” scenario im- plements the new operating concepts that have emerged from the TCRP J-08 new transit paradigms research that includes an integrated set of potential e-transit applications. The contractor will provide each of the above to the proj- ect panel as technical memoranda for review and comment. Once comments have been received and incorporated, the contractor will prepare and deliver a summary report docu- menting the overall concept of operations. Task 6 deliverables include • Technical Memorandum: Overview of e-Transit Con- cepts and Applications, • Technical Memorandum: e-Transit Concept of Opera- tions for the As Is “Transit Today” Scenario, • Technical Memorandum: e-Transit Concept of Opera- tions for the To Be “Transit of the Future” Scenario, and • Summary Report: e-Transit Concept of Operations. 4.7 TASK 7: e-TRANSIT REFERENCE ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE This task determines the business functions and require- ments, processes, information needs and transformations, interactions, interfaces, and so forth that are needed to imple- ment the Task 6 concept of operations and represents these ideas within the e-transit reference enterprise architecture. The enterprise architecture provides a repository for infor- mation and relationships for • Business requirements, • People, • Processes, and • Technologies. The enterprise architecture will capture the As Is “Transit Today” architecture and the sequence and impacts on the organization of making the transition to the To Be “Transit of the Future” architecture. As discussed in Section 3.1, the enterprise architecture will include a • Business model, • Information architecture, • Applications architecture, and • Technology architecture. The contractor will • Develop the As Is “Transit Today” business model, information architecture, applications architecture, and

technology architecture and represent them in Metis or another chosen enterprise architecture tool; • Carry out system engineering to define the evolution requirements from the As Is “Transit Today” to the future and evaluate different system configurations and e-transit applications to get there; and • Add the resultant To Be “Transit of the Future” business model, current systems and technologies, information architecture, applications architecture, and technology architecture to the enterprise architecture. The resultant e-transit enterprise architecture tool will be provided to the project panel for review after the creation of the As Is “Transit Today” architecture and again when it is completed and includes the To Be “Transit of the Future” architecture. The contractor will also incorporate a sequence of steps that effect the transition. This sequence will be accompanied by model documentation describing the enti- ties, structure, and definitions within the reference enterprise architecture. Last, the contractor will produce a summary report providing an overview of the architectures for each scenario and their concepts of operations and the reference enterprise architecture as a whole. Task 7 deliverables include • e-Transit Reference Enterprise Architecture captured using Metis by Computas, Systems Architect by Popkin, or an equivalent tool; • e-Transit Reference Enterprise Architecture Model Documentation; and • Summary Report: Overview of the e-Transit Reference Enterprise Architecture. 4.8 TASK 8: GUIDANCE ON USING THE REFERENCE e-TRANSIT ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE The e-transit reference enterprise architecture is meant to be a tool, and it needs guidance and examples to be properly used. This task provides for the development of guidance in using the e-transit enterprise architecture. This includes the preparation of examples to illustrate the use of the architec- ture in typical applications. The contractor will perform the following activities for this task: 1. Prepare criteria and recommendations on how to cap- ture potential e-transit applications within the reference enterprise architecture framework. 2. Develop a typical transition strategy for implementa- tion of the To Be “Transit of the Future” architecture that includes phasing and dependency analysis. 3. Develop draft guidance to the TCRP J-08 e-Transit Project Panel for identifying research needs and emerg- 35 ing opportunities. This guidance will be provided to the project panel for review as a technical memorandum. 4. Develop draft guidance for transit agency enterprise architecture development, e-transit planning, and im- plementation. This guidance will be provided to the project panel for review as a technical memorandum. The end product will be an e-transit reference architecture user’s guide and example applications. The user’s guide shall include an introduction to enterprise architecture concepts, an overview of the definition of e-transit, the concepts of operation for the As Is and To Be scenarios captured within the e-transit reference architecture, and how to use the refer- ence architecture for different purposes. Task 8 deliverables include • Technical Memorandum: Using the e-Transit Refer- ence Enterprise Architecture to Identify Research Needs and Emerging Opportunities (Draft Guidance to TCRP Panel); • Technical Memorandum: Using the e-Transit Reference Enterprise Architecture to develop a Transit Agency Enterprise Architecture for e-Transit Planning and Imple- mentation (Draft Guidance to Transit Agencies); and • e-Transit Reference Enterprise Architecture User’s Guide and Example Applications. 4.9 TASK 9: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR UPDATE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE e-TRANSIT REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE Given the rapid advances in e-transit technologies and ser- vices, the ever changing business and IT environments, and the ongoing adoption of e-transit by transit agencies, it is essential that the e-transit reference architecture be updated and maintained to ensure its continued usefulness. TCRP projects, however, are developed around fixed time frames and deliverables. If the information is to remain current, a permanent home and adoptive “parent” must be found for the project. Promising options include continued support by TCRP under the J-08 e-transit project, or as part of the J-06 Quick Response for Special Needs efforts, and APTA’s IT committee. Another option is to provide for maintenance and upkeep of the reference architecture as part of a federally funded support contract or research center, such as the ITS support that contractors provide to the FHWA’s ITS Joint Program Office, the Volpe Transportation Systems Center, or the University of South Florida’s National Transit Insti- tute. Each option has different advantages and disadvan- tages. All would require that continued funding be identified and obtained. The contractor will identify and analyze potential options for continued maintenance and upkeep of the e-transit refer- ence architecture. The contractor will take into consideration

potential funding opportunities, availability of knowledge- able staff and resources, organizational concerns, and other characteristics suggested by the project panel in order to rank the options and make a recommendation to TCRP. The con- tractor will provide summary options, analysis, and recom- mendations in a technical memorandum. Task 9 deliverables include • Technical Memorandum: Recommendations for Update and Maintenance of the e-Transit Reference Architecture. 4.10 TASK 10: FINAL PROJECT REPORT The final project report will document the key results from all the research tasks and provide a summary of each of the major project products. Recommendations and major con- clusions will also be highlighted in an executive summary of the project. An outline and draft of the final project report will be prepared and submitted in electronic format during 36 the preparation of the final document. If requested, a briefing and/or conference call will also be provided to discuss com- ments of the outline and draft reports and agree upon the final report content and structure. In order to minimize the re- sponse time in preparation of the final report, a 2-week re- view and comment period is requested with comments being provided electronically directly to the project team. This will be modified as necessary to meet the project panel’s needs and to conform to the TCRP policies and practices. The final project report will incorporate all comments and recommendations received from the project panel. The num- ber of copies and format will conform to the overall J-09 con- tract and TCRP reporting requirements as described in the TCRP “Procedural Manual for Agencies Conducting Research in the Transit Cooperative Research Program.” Task 10 deliverables include • Final Report Project Outline, • Draft Project Report, and • Final Project Report.