Planned Special Events
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Planned Special Events (PSEs) Capability Maturity Assessment

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The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Operations makes available the PSE capability maturity framework (CMF) assessment tool to help agencies:

  1. Develop consensus around needed agency improvements for PSE management
  2. Identify their immediate priorities for improvements
  3. Identify concrete actions to continuously improve capabilities to plan and implement for PSEs

Access the Planned Special Events CMF Assessment Tool using Microsoft® Internet Explorer 9® and later, Google® Chrome® version (v)33 and later, or Mozilla® Firefox® v30 and later. The tool offers a quick 1-minute assessment as well as a more focused assessment through a set of 16 questions.

Agencies and regions typically conduct the PSE CMF self-assessment when their agency is considering improving existing PSE planning activities and protocols and when their region has upcoming PSEs that are expected to have significant impacts on the traveling public.

In completing the PSE CMF tool, agencies are encouraged to engage PSE coordinators or managers, a selected group of event planners, law enforcement representatives, and traffic managers in the region.

Planned Special Event Capability Maturity Framework Resources

What is a Capability Maturity Framework?

CMFs are concepts with roots from the software development industry. They offer an approach to review common barriers to the adoption and success of transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) strategies. CMFs’ capability for agencies are described in the following six dimensions:

  1. Business processes including formal scoping, planning, programming, and budgeting
  2. Systems and technology including use of systems engineering, systems architecture standards, interoperability, and standardization
  3. Performance measurement including measures definition, data acquisition, and data utilization
  4. Culture including technical understanding, leadership, outreach, and program legal authority
  5. Organization and workforce including programmatic status, organizational structure, staff development, and recruitment and retention
  6. Collaboration including relationships with public safety agencies, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and the private sector

For each of the dimensions, the same four levels of capability are defined as follows:

  • Level 1 - Activities and relationships largely ad hoc, informal and champion driven, substantially outside the mainstream of other departments of transportation (DOT) activities
  • Level 2 - Basic strategy applications understood; key processes support requirements identified and key technology and core capacities under development, but limited internal accountability and uneven alignment with external partners
  • Level 3 - Standardized strategy applications implemented in priority contexts and managed for performance; technical and business processes developed, documented, and integrated into DOT; partnerships aligned
  • Level 4 - Full, sustainable core DOT program priority, established on the basis of continuous improvement with top-level management status and formal partnerships

By following a structured process, agencies can self-identify their current and desired levels of capability for each dimension.