A Case Study on Applying the Systems Engineering Approach:Best Practices and Lessons Learned from the ChattanoogaSmartBus Project

This report presents the results of a review of the systems engineering processes used during the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority’s (CARTA) SmartBus Project. The Smartbus Project is a comprehensive transit ITS program for the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee involving deployment of a wide array of transit ITS technologies. This review was part of the national evaluation of the SmartBus Project, a project that is being implemented in part with fiscal year (FY03) ITS Integration Program earmark funding and is being evaluated by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This review highlights a number of features of CARTA’s approach to systems engineering that helped lead to the success of its ITS deployments. Some of these features were: (a) documenting their long-term vision for ITS, (b) avoiding the temptation to do too much too fast, (c) testing systems thoroughly before introducing them to operation, and (d) being willing to accept schedule delays when needed to help manage deployment risks. In the end, CARTA’s ITS program helped them evolve from an organization relying on manual processes and compartmentalized software systems to one with integrated applications and automated processes.