Emphasize financial sustainability in concept development. Keep long-term funding goals in mind when tailoring a concept to meet a short-term budget.

Connected Vehicle Pilot Demonstration Site Experience and Lessons Learned

Date Posted
03/27/2017
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Identifier
2017-L00763

Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program Phase 1: Lessons Learned

Summary Information

The Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilot Deployment Program seeks to spur innovation among early adopters of connected vehicle application concepts. In September 2015, pilot deployment awards were made to three sites, New York City, Wyoming, and Tampa, FL. The Pilot deployment at each site included three distinct phases:

  • Phase 1: Concept Development – The structured concept will be developed and performance measures, targets, and capabilities associated with performance monitoring and performance management will be identified.
  • Phase 2: Design/Build/Test – The concept will be designed, built, and tested prior to operation.
  • Phase 3: Operate and Maintain – The system will be operated, performance measures will be monitored and system impacts will be evaluated.

Lessons learned during Phase 1 were derived from in-person and telephone interviews with 17 federal staff members and three CV Pilot site leadership teams. Additional lessons were collected from program documentation.

Lessons Learned

LESSONS LEARNED FROM USDOT PERSPECTIVE:

 

 

Program Management (Acquisition Strategy and Outreach)

  • Conduct consistent and organized meetings with the entire acquisition team (federal technical team plus federal contracting team plus support contractors). Routine meetings prior to an award will clarify channels of communication.
  • Pursue outreach activities with traditional and non-traditional communities. Plan outreach including flyers, slide decks, and speaking engagements. Manage mailing lists and ads.
  • Provide generic examples of deployment concepts based on addressing local needs as a key element of pre-procurement engagement. Identify common issues, performance measures, and an integrated portfolio of applications that can address local issues.
  • Investigate data ownership and subpoena issues in detail prior to the solicitation development process – and provide this detail in the solicitation. Clarify protections for safety related research data.
  • Include basic educational material so non-experts can be engaged and understand the nature of the proposed program. Participation beyond the ITS community may require educational material to clarify benefits of CV technologies.



Program Management (Program Structure and Timeline)

  • Make evaluation and performance measurement an early topic in concept development. Consider potential measures of effectiveness and performance when developing evaluation goals.
  • Emphasize financial sustainability in concept development. Keep long-term funding goals in mind when tailoring a concept to meet a short-term budget.



Program Management (Project Coordination Meetings)

  • Create a non-competitive environment. Share project documentation across projects to build ideas. Encourage collaboration.



Program Management (Review of Project Documentation)

  • Provide technical reviewers the opportunity to visit the project site in person. Visiting the site in person can facilitate the review project documentation.
  • Plan for multiple reviews of complex deliverables. Complex deliverables will likely require multiple iterations. Provide expanded outlines to align reviewer expectations.



Technical Assistance (Guidance, Outlines, and Templates)

  • Build enough time in the project schedule to allow for technical assistance. Schedule walkthroughs with developers to review requirements and design documents early in the project to reduce risk of changes late in the project which can be very expensive.



Technological Maturity of Applications

  • Recommend that early CV deployers spend time exploring applications on the Open Source Application Development Portal (OSADP). The OSADP enables stakeholders to collaborate and share insights, methods, and source code related to connected vehicle applications. By utilizing resources available on the OSADP, the deployment sites can reduce costs through the prevention of uncoordinated, proprietary and duplicative mobility applications research and testing.



Project Management (Privacy)

  • Understand that privacy is a legal construct that demands close participation from attorneys. Communicate the workload to attorneys that are involved.

 

LESSONS LEARNED FROM CV PILOT SITES’ PERSPECTIVE:

 

 

 

Systems Engineering (Establishing a Concept)

  • Develop an approach to integrate the CV pilot with existing transportation systems’ management and operations. Deployments may integrate more easily into existing operations if non-CV technology is considered as part of the concept and solution.
  • Prepare for concept evolution. User needs will likely expand. Keep up with changing user needs. Focus on documentation.
  • Acquire as much existing documentation related to connected vehicle research and deployments as possible. Prevent spending unnecessary time reinventing the wheel.



Systems Engineering (Requirements Development)

  • Develop verifiable system requirements that will work with evolving standards. The critical part of this process is to have a solid set of User Needs and well formed Concept of Operations.
  • Develop a good understanding of what is available from the SCMS and vendors for RSU/OBU device capabilities and software integration. The pilot sites reported that a good understanding of the SCMS was important because of the deployment goal to develop a realistic system of systems build and develop verifiable tests.
  • Know that filing for DSRC licensing for RSUs is a very time consuming process as application has to be done through the FCC on an individual basis. Pilot sites initially spent more time on filing for DSRC licensing than originally expected. After reaching out to the FCC, the pilot sites were eventually provided a process for the batch submission of RSU license requests.



Performance Measurement and Evaluation

  • Conceive measures that are straightforward, explainable, that quantify the project benefits, and that are achievable given data availability. Understand how the project will impact various stakeholders.
  • Collaborate with independent evaluator early in the concept development phase. CV pilot sites the independent evaluator can develop a data collection plan.



Human Resources and Training

  • Research provisions where an individual’s documented consent may not be required. Gaining documented informed consent is a key aspect of human subjects research. The Pilot teams were able to simplify the consent requirements by working with the USDOT to enable an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to approve participation based on employer agreements.
  • Convey to the participants the difference between connected vehicles and automated vehicles. When pitching the connected vehicle concept to stakeholders and local agencies make sure agencies understand that connected vehicles use driver assistance technology, but drivers will have to intervene.



Institutional, Financial, Partnership and Outreach

  • Draft Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) after the designs have been finalized. At the end of Concept Development (but prior to design) it may be difficult to draft detailed MOU for partners, especially commercial partners, to sign on to because the details associated with the final design will not have been made yet. Start as early as possible in acknowledging the types of agreements required. Refine and sharpen the understanding of the requirements and contents over time as the agreements are developed.