THE LONG ROAD TO A SUCCESSFUL ATMS INSTALLATION

While the technological advances associated with Advanced Traffic Management Systems have been substantial during the past 20 years, little has been done to improve the institutional process associated with their procurement and installation. The absence of significant progress is likely to reflect the difficulty of changing the regulations and procedures utilized by public agencies to define these processes. As a result of its recent experience with the installation of a traffic signal system in Northern Virginia, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is considering techniques to improve the acquisition and installation process. Candidate techniques include the use of development and testing standards such as ISO9000 and the Capability Maturity Model, requiring increased visibility for system integrators on ATMS projects, and the use of expanded testing and approval steps during the system development. These techniques offer the potential benefit of reduced system life cycle cost, due to the fact that they provide a more rigorous development and testing process. In addition, all of the techniques being considered can be implemented within the framework of VDOT's existing acquisition and management policies. However, it is important to recognize that they are also likely to increase the initial cost of system acquisition because of the additional requirements being placed on the ATMS supplier. It is important to recognize that this increase in cost comes at a time when ATMS system costs are generally rising because of the complexity of this technology.