Companion Guide to Video January 2014

www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials

What is your agency’s approach to the purchase 

of traffic technologies and Intelligent 

Transportation Systems, known as ITS?

If your agency plans to borrow specifications 

from developers and others and then add extra 

features, your agency will risk misstating the ITS 

and traffic technology requirements. This often 

results in lost time and money and even worse, 

a system that fails to meet agency needs.

A smarter, more effective way to make 

purchasing decisions is to use the Systems 

Engineering Approach. A Systems Engineering 

Approach is also a must for Federal-aid projects. 

The Systems Engineering Approach produces 

ITS and traffic technology requirements that 

your agency can use to evaluate and test the 

system. Using this approach, agencies learn 

about requirements by assessing how they will 

use the system. This written assessment is 

called a Concept of Operations. 

In short, a written understanding of how your 

agency will use the system comes before its 

decision on which system to buy. 

Let’s look at the development of both the 

concept of operations and system requirements, 

along with how they aid the purchasing process. 

When creating a Concept of Operations, your 

agency invests time in understanding and 

documenting what system users, both internal 

and external to your agency, will do with a 

system. 

When actually writing the Concept of 

Operations, it’s necessary to identify system 

users as the noun in the sentence and their task 

as the verb. For example, “The operator will 

monitor the status, reference information, or 

analyze and resolve a problem.” 

System requirements flow from the Concept of 

Operations and describe what the system has to 

do to support the user’s needs and completion 

of tasks. System requirements may also address 

the size and speed of the communication 

system. When writing the system requirements, 

the system, or elements of the system, is the 

noun. For example, “The system shall provide a 

real-time display.” 

Project Development

Operations

Purchasing Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) and 

Traffic Technology

LPAs can save time and money using the Systems Engineering Approach to 

develop and purchase ITS and traffic technology
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

The goal is that each requirement is traceable to 

the Concept of Operations and is also clear, 

feasible, and testable. Test plans known as 

verification and validation plans demonstrate 

that the system fulfills requirements and 

supports operations. 

During the procurement process, agencies 

share with prospective contractors the written 

system requirements and the verification plan 

that will be used throughout the project.

When using a competitive bid process, FHWA 

recommends that system requirements be 

included in the project plans and specifications. 

This sets the expectation that the contractor 

must meet the system requirements. 

When an agency uses a request for proposal, or 

RFP, as the procurement method, proposers 

start with the written system requirements and 

explain how their approach fulfills each one. 

Agencies are then able to select the developer 

with the solution that best fulfills the 

requirements and meets their needs. 

Both the competitive bid and RFP processes 

meet Federal requirements when purchasing 

ITS and traffic technology that do not include 

significant infrastructure construction. However, 

the systems engineering approach favors the 

use of the RFP because it allows agencies to 

review how the provider will fulfill the 

requirements before awarding the contract. 

To illustrate the development and use of the 

Concept of Operations and system 

requirements, let’s look at an example of a user 

activity.

A transportation engineer receives a citizen’s 

complaint about a broken traffic signal. While on 

the phone with the citizen, the engineer pulls up 

a display of the signal controller from her 

workstation, observes the operation of the signal 

controller, and checks for malfunctions. She 

either addresses the issue immediately using 

the system or determines the need for a field 

review.

To support this activity, the system must provide 

a real-time display that presents all the elements 

relevant to any operational problems and 

malfunctions that the operator can foresee. 

Additionally, the system needs to allow for 

control changes that might correct the problem, 

at least temporarily. 

When presented with these requirements during 

the proposal process, the proposer can 

demonstrate how the implemented system fulfills 

the requirements. 

Recipients of Federal funds are required to 

develop a systems engineering analysis when 

purchasing ITS and traffic technology. 

For a small system, the analysis may take just a 

few pages, but it can be considerably longer for 

more complex systems.

Systems engineering analyses help agencies to 

identify and correct defects as early as possible. 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

If you’ll be assisting your agency in the purchase 

of ITS or traffic technology, consider furthering

your knowledge of systems engineering by 

reviewing the interactive guides and handbooks 

referenced at this Web site, or by taking a 

course through the National Highway Institute or 

other industry training.
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

The content of this 

document is not a 

substitute for 

information obtained 

from State departments 

of transportation, 

appropriate FHWA 

Division Offices, and 

applicable laws. 

Scenarios have been 

simplified for emphasis 

and do not necessarily 

reflect the actual range of 

requirements applicable 

to the scenario or this 

topic. This document

was created under 

contract number 

DTFH61-11-D-00025 by 

the Federal Highway 

Administration, U.S. 

Department of 

Transportation, and is 

offered to the public to 

heighten and focus 

awareness of Federal-aid 

requirements within the 

local public agencies 

community and 

reinforces the 

importance of these 

necessary policies, 

procedures, and 

practices.

This Companion Resource 

is the script content for 

the video production of 

the same name. 

Additional Resources

• The Systems Engineering Guidebook provides covering ITS-related 

systems engineering topics, forms, processes, example documents, 

and guidance

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/cadiv/segb/index.cfm

• The Systems Engineering Handbook with basic tutorial of the systems 

engineering process as applied to ITS projects

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/seitsguide/

• Model Systems Engineering Documents for Adaptive Signal Control 

Technologies

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop11027/index.htm

• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations for 23CFR940, ITS Architecture 

and Standards

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?c=ecfr&sid=492fe3798b5bccb85ccafbe8e3f479ad&rgn=div5&view=t

ext&node=23:1.0.1.11.50&idno=23

• List of ITS courses and training from U.S. DOT’s Research and 

Innovative Technologies Administration (RITA)

http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/courses.aspx