Developing Management Systems for Statewide Transportation Planning: Early Lessons

Abstract

The implementation of two management systems, the intermodal and public transportation management systems, in the Georgia Department of Transportation is examined. Early experience with this implementation suggests that key elements of an implementation strategy are characteristic of success in such an organizational environment. These include establishing organizational responsibilities, establishing guidance principles, assessing the organizational planning and decision-making processes, assessing the environmental context for the management system, establishing an implementation strategy that has tangible intermediate results, and identifying an agency “champion” for implementation. The challenge of implementing management systems within any organization is understanding the decision-making process and the information needs of the agency decision makers.