Office of Operations
21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies
Table of Contents

The Value of a Business Case in Mainstreaming TSMO

3. Evaluating the Effectiveness of a TSMO Business Case

To gauge the effectiveness of a business case, it is helpful to develop indicators of how well TSMO is mainstreamed throughout the organization and periodically evaluate them to assess changes. Potential indicators may include the following:

  • Increased TSMO resources (funding and staffing)
  • More effective use of transportation resources to solve issues
  • Greater use of TSMO strategies
  • Realization of TSMO goals and objectives
  • Increased collaboration and integration of TSMO strategies in other areas of the agency (project development, design and construction, maintenance, and safety)
  • Alignment of agency strategic goals with TSMO strategic goals
  • Greater awareness by staff of TSMO strategies, benefits, and opportunities
  • Rate at which TSMO shows up in senior leadership meeting agendas
  • Development of TSMO committees that include leadership and staff across the agency
  • Rate at which TSMO is considered in asset management plans and programs
  • Overall system performance through the advancement of TSMO

Why Evaluation Is Important

Agencies can evaluate the effectiveness of the business case to determine if it is working to support mainstreaming. It is important to determine whether the business case is reaching the right people with the right message. For example: Are all lines of business within the agency integrating TSMO into how they do business? Is TSMO siloed in a particular office or business unit within the organization? Evaluating the effectiveness of the TSMO business can provide insights into making a more compelling case throughout the agency.

How the Effectiveness of the Business Case Can Be Evaluated

Evaluating the effectiveness of the business case can involve outreach across business units, surveys, policy and procedure reviews, project reviews, and resource allocation tracking.

A general indicator of effectiveness is how well TSMO is understood and accepted across the agency and among political and elected leadership. For example:

  • Are TSMO strategies part of project planning and scoping?
  • Does the maintenance division consider how its activities interact with TSMO strategies and objectives?
  • Is TSMO integrated into the planning and programming process to allow TSMO investments to compete effectively with capacity investments?
  • Are TSMO approaches looked to first to solve operational issues?

Another indication of effectiveness is funding increases for TSMO initiatives. Initiatives may include TSMO projects, services, or other activities designed to optimize the system without major investments in capacity. Funding increases in operations or services (i.e., highway service patrol or traveler information) may indicate that the TSMO business case is effective. Similarly, adequate or increased staffing to plan, deploy, and manage TSMO initiatives can indicate increasing organizational commitment to TSMO.

Review of agency policies and procedures can also shed light on the effectiveness of an agency’s TMSO business case. Reviews should look at how policies and procedures are evolving to advance TSMO strategies. For example:

  • Does the project planning and scoping process include consideration of TSMO strategies as a viable alternative to capacity construction?
  • Are procurement processes flexible enough to include evolving and emerging TSMO strategies?
  • Is there a process for multi-disciplinary coordination across divisions to integrate TSMO strategies into all functional areas?
  • Are new policies or processes designed specifically to integrate or mainstream TSMO?

Although a few of these indicators may be quantifiable (i.e., funding or staffing allocated to TSMO), others are better evaluated qualitatively through surveys or review of documentation of changes in policies or processes. The business case provides the foundation for promoting TSMO throughout the organization. It should be adjusted to address areas where the benefits of TSMO have not been well understood or embraced as a way to optimize the transportation system.

TSMO management and staff should develop a process for evaluating the effectiveness of the TSMO business case as a tool for mainstreaming TSMO. The evaluation process can identify areas of resistance within the organization (i.e., people, policies, and procedures) to help improve the message of TSMO benefits and identify opportunities for additional outreach and collaboration in areas that may not have fully embraced a TSMO philosophy.