In addition to the upgrade, TxDOT has identified a number of enhancements to increase the effectiveness of the system. TxDOT should give priority to flexible technology solutions and should implement the changes on an aggressive schedule. In the past, vehicle registration and titling transactions relied exclusively on paper forms. The system, originally envisioned to include all vehicle registration and titling transactions at both the state and county levels, was to be implemented in 1991. Implementation began in November 1994, but since county participation is optional, it was not completed until December 1998 when the last county came online.
Some technologies are more flexible than others.
For example, Internet-based technology is one of the more flexible technologies. One benefit of this technology is that what appears to be a single, seamless system for completing a transaction may actually require accessing several different systems that use different technologies. This flexibility allows the organization maintaining the systems to upgrade or change their technologies over time without significant impact to the user. Since TxDOT wants to avoid returning to the position of operating unsupported technology, it should give more weight during the evaluation of proposals to such flexible solutions. The RFP also lists some possible enhancements that the vendor should consider in the design of the update.