Guide to Contracting ITS Projects (2006)

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[Step 4 Worksheet] Prepared By: _____________________________________ Date: _____________________ Brief Project Description: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Which of the following best describes the Level of ITS Project Experience for your agency’s personnel? 1. ITS assigned as part-time job to person with no staff and little to no specific ITS experience. 2. ITS assigned as full-time job with no staff or some part-time staff support. Person assigned has some specific ITS experience with Category 2 or 3 projects. Staff support (if it exists) has little to no ITS experience. 3. Full-time ITS manager and staff with significant prior ITS experience. Staff support includes system administration, operations, and maintenance responsibilities. Answer Number: [ ] Which of the following best describes your agency’s ITS Organizational Experience? 1. Little to no experience with the possible exception of Category 1 ITS project(s). 2. Experience with at least one Category 2 or greater project. 3. Experience with at least one Category 3 or greater project. Answer Number: [ ] Which of the following best describes your agency’s Organizational Structure for handling ITS project responsibilities? 1. ITS responsibility not defined. Responsibility housed within organization with other mission or primary responsibility. Responsibility may also be scattered among organizational entities with no clear lines of responsibility. 2. ITS responsibility somewhat, but not adequately, defined. Individual organizational units have ITS responsibility and have their own budgets, management, and priorities; however, 35 A P P E N D I X B Determining Agency Capability Level

there is no definitive linkage among these units. An umbrella ITS organizational unit may exist, but may not have the budgetary authority to effectively manage subunits. 3. Established organizational unit with budgetary authority and clear ITS responsibilities. Orga- nizational unit ties all ITS responsibilities together and includes a procurement process that supports ITS acquisition (e.g., personnel, policies, and procedures). Answer Number: [ ] Which of the following best describes the level of Resources for ITS within your agency? 1. Little to none. No identifiable ITS budget categories or identification of specific ITS funding within existing organizational units. 2. Some budget resources (e.g., ITS earmark funding) assigned to one or more existing organi- zational unit(s). Support for personnel, equipment, office space, and training expected to come from existing budget of organizational unit(s). 3. Identifiable budget category set aside for ITS. Budget includes support for all required per- sonnel, support equipment, office space, training, and (if necessary) consulting support. Answer Number: [ ] Which of the following best describes the level of Management Support for ITS and Operations within your agency? 1. Some mid-level management support for ITS/Operations, but little to no interest at top man- agement levels. ITS/Operations not recognized as an agency priority. 2. Strong mid-level management support for ITS/Operations with some interest/involvement at top management levels. 3. Top-level management support. ITS/Operations considered an agency priority within its overall mission. Answer Number: [ ] Which of the following best describes the level of management Expectations for ITS projects within your agency? 1. Not defined or limited to a lower category ITS project under consideration for deployment, expansion, or replacement. 2. Expectations exist for a few “special” ITS-related projects. Expectations may or may not be realistic depending on whether they have been managed properly. 3. ITS/Operations is part of both short- and long-range planning. Expectations are well defined within actual performance measures. ITS/Operations expectations focus on improvement and not on status quo. Answer Number: [ ] Agency Capability Score (Answer Number Total): [ ] Agency Capability Score 6–12 12–18 Agency Level 1–2 2–3 36 Guide to Contracting ITS Projects

Determining Your Agency Capability Level Using the table above, determine which of the two ranges your agency capability score falls within. Use your judgment to select the appropriate capability level based on where your score falls within the range. If the score falls towards the lower end of the range, select the lower capa- bility level in that range. If it falls towards the higher end of the range, select the higher level. If it falls somewhere in the middle, be conservative and select the higher capability level. For exam- ple, suppose your agency capability score comes out to 15, which falls directly between 12–18. The suggestion is to be conservative and rank your capability level as a 2 instead of 3. Determining Agency Capability Level 37