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The Transportation Management Center Pooled-Fund Study (TMC PFS) has just released a new handbook, Configuration Management for Transportation Management Systems, that provides guidance to transportation professionals and agencies who want to implement or improve their configuration management (CM) practices for transportation management centers (TMCs) or other complex transportation systems. ICDN Editor Jerry Werner recently discussed the handbook's content and purpose with Prof. Brian Smith of the University of Virginia, who was the principal investigator and primary author.

A Real (and Largely Unmet) Need for Configuration Management

Smith, who also directs the Smart Travel Lab, an ITS research facility of the University of Virginia’s Center for Transportation Studies and the Virginia Transportation Research Council, got involved in configuration management several years ago as the lab developed prototype software for freeway management and signal control systems throughout Virginia. "Our students would develop something that worked really well and then they would graduate, and we found that it wasn't documented as well as it should have been," Smith recalls. "We were having real trouble with turnover and the stability of our system. Configuration management can help you avoid that. It's not very sexy, but once you get burned you really appreciate the need for it."

In fact, many agencies are just now becoming aware of the need for configuration management. "In a CM survey we conducted back in 2000, we found that only 27% of signal control systems and 62% of freeway management systems reported using CM at all," Smith says. In developing an earlier NCHRP synthesis report on the topic NCHRP (Synthesis 294 – Configuration Management in Transportation Management Systems), the UVA team collected significant anecdotal information about what happened when agencies did not use CM. "In one case the agency was upgrading their central control software, and the new contractor actually had to reverse engineer several protocols for field devices because of a lack of documentation."

Organization of the Handbook

The new 220-page handbook is divided into ten chapters (see Table 1 below). The first few chapters provide an overview of configuration management: what it is and why someone would need it. The following chapters are helpful once an agency has decided to implement (or upgrade) their configuration management program and needs to know more details about budget, people, and training requirements. The new handbook provides numerous examples and resources from real world CM planning documents and processes used by leading transportation agencies. "The real emphasis is on how people are doing CM today -- we wanted to provide concrete guidance," Smith says.

Table 1: Chapter Lineup in Configuration Management for Transportation Management Systems

Smith says that the starting point for the new handbook was the National Consensus Standard for Configuration Management (ANSI/EIA-649/-1998), which provided a high-level understanding of and guiding principles for CM. "We tailored our own handbook around EIA-649, and added some good transportation examples of how to make these standards work for a TMC," Smith says. "We didn't try to reinvent the wheel -- that standard is well accepted in the software industry and other places. Our objective was to provide examples from agencies like Georgia DOT and Texas DOT -- instead of Microsoft -- so that transportation professionals could see how folks who wear the same shoes apply CM to their systems. Our goal was to explain which elements were important and which were unimportant, and what amount of [CM] resources were required."

Smith says that transportation professionals and managers will likely use the new handbook in several different ways:

1. To make them aware of what CM is and why it's important.
2. To help guide them in implementing a configuration management process. "It's not intended to give them a step-by-step blueprint for setting up their configuration management system, because CM is not a 'one size fits all' process," Smith says. "Instead, it explains the standard and the process, and provides examples of how other people did it."
3. To serve as a resource guide for agencies that have already begun their CM program and want further information.

Smith says that while many people think that configuration management is only necessary for software projects or systems, it can and should be used for systems that encompass many hardware elements, as well. "Of course you have software in TMCs, but you also have a huge hardware component too, with all the [changeable message] signs and communications infrastructures," he says. "While there's still a debate in the industry about whether hardware "counts" in CM, we took the approach that yes, it does count. If you switch out a camera and change protocols, that modification is going to propagate to your software and everywhere else. Changes in your system, whether on the software or hardware side, have to be managed carefully to make sure that your system is stable and available."

Chapter 7 in the new handbook, Configuration Management and the System Life Cycle, discusses the role of CM throughout the lifecycle of a large transportation system, from initial procurement through working with contractors to develop the system, to system acceptance and maintenance. Smith contends that the transition from the development stage to operations is particularly critical. "In the development stage, CM is primarily the responsibility of the contractors who develop the system," he says, quickly adding "but if the DOT will ultimately own the source code, the contractor should also turn over the existing CM system that was used to build it. There aren't too many examples -- perhaps except for parts of Georgia Navigator -- where the vendor turned over the CM history to the agency, but that's one of the things we're trying to change."

"If you write a contract for software development where you're going to own the software, that contract needs to include information about how you get started on your own CM program once the vendor turns the software over to you," Smith says. "When a lot of agencies get burned, they almost have to go back to square one to re-document their systems, which is not a real attractive thing to do. You need to document the system's evolution from day one so that you don't get in that position."

The new handbook also provides some guidance on configuration management strategies for regionally interoperable transportation systems. "We also discuss what CM means for a regionally integrated 'system of systems,' where you try to tie together freeway and CAD (computer-aided dispatch) systems from multiple jurisdictions," Smith says. He acknowledges that CM for a system of disparate subsystems is a huge challenge, but observes "if you want to have a prayer of doing that, the individual systems need to be well documented first." He adds that the topic of configuration management requirements for "systems of systems" was one of the future research needs highlighted in a related white paper authored by the project team.

Related Resources

In addition to developing the new Configuration Management handbook, this project (which is part of the TMC Pooled Fund Study) is also producing a number of related resources that can help key individuals within agencies gain a better understanding of the need for configuration management programs and their resource requirements. These products are geared toward different audiences, and can be used by traffic management, ITS, or other staff who are involved with, make decisions that influence, or allocate resources throughout a systems lifecycle. These products will help these individuals gain an appreciation and support for the need and importance of CM activities and practices.

• Configuration Management Fact Sheet
• Configuration Management Primer
• Configuration Management Tri-Fold Brochure
• Configuration Management Technical Presentation

Acquiring the Handbook and Related Resources

The new Configuration Management Handbook and associated products are expected to be available at the end of January 2004. Go to the Configuration Management Project web page to check on the availability of these products.

Related National Highway Institute (NHI) Course

The new Configuration Management handbook will also be used as a primary resource for the forthcoming NHI Course No. 137042, "Configuration Management for Transportation Management Systems." More information about course content and availability will be available soon on the NHI's web site. This 2-day course is will be available in the spring or summer of 2004.