LINKING ARCHITECTURE TO STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

A system architecture will become a reality when the standards are developed that support the architecture. Systems will be developed and products will be built in conformance to a set of standards--not an architecture per se. Thus, the authors place a great deal of emphasis on developing standards that comport with the emerging architecture. This paper will describe how ITS America and the United States Department of Transportation are using the emerging architecture to guide and coordinate the development of standards and protocols. The paper will highlight the activities that have already occurred to strengthen the link between architecture and standards, as well as the activities and processes planned in the future that will continue to strengthen this link. The relationship between the architecture and international standards activities will also be discussed. This author coordinates ITS America's architecture, standards, and telecommunications activities to accelerate the development of integrated intelligent transportation systems.