Like any large-scale undertaking, an ICM project unfolds in stages. Taking a high-level view of this process, we can broadly identify three principal stages:
The following table illustrates the types of activities associated with each stage:
Planning |
Development and Implementation |
Operations and Maintenance |
| Assemble sponsors, stakeholders, and partners — enlist the participants needed for the project | Agree on MOUs, playbooks, deployment — get final agreement from all participants on collaboration processes, traffic management strategies, and deployment plans | Operate the system — technical systems and stakeholder collaboration |
| Select a corridor — evaluate possibilities and choose a site | Integrate/build supporting systems — includes design, development, testing, validation | Evaluate the system — assess system functioning, stakeholder coordination, corridor metrics |
| Perform a corridor analysis — obtain a thorough understanding of the facts on the ground | Refine corridor sensing and control capabilities — includes data procurement/standardization/sharing mechanisms, and development of interfaces among systems and operators | Maintain the system — monitor and adjust/refresh technical components, stakeholder communication processes |
| Develop a Concept of Operations — outline current corridor operations and how the ICM project could improve them | Deployment (System and MOUs) — put both the technology and the cooperative stakeholder protocols into practice | Upgrade the system — integrate new technology, lessons learned |
| Delineate high-level architecture — identify the pieces and how they would work together | ||
| Engage in high-level deployment planning — examine what needs to be implemented, where, when, how, and by whom | ||
| Identify funding and organizational structures — enable project continuity and execution | ||
| Outline initial requirements — specify what the various systems must do to meet user needs |
While this is only a sample of the tasks in an ICM project, it is clear there are many interrelated pieces. To ensure that the stages proceed as desired, that nothing is overlooked, and that the project has the greatest chance of succeeding, it is essential to apply an overall process of planning, guidance, and control. That overall process is known as Systems Engineering.