Essential Elements of Data Integration to Drive Business Decisions in Transportation Agencies

摘要

In March 2015, a peer exchange was held on the topic of Improving Safety Programs through datarngovernance and Data Business Planning. The peer exchange included representatives of safety,rnplanning, data management, and IT functions at 10 state DOTs. One of the major issues of concernrnraised by different participants was the lack of data integration across data sources and systems tornfacilitate business decisions in transportation agencies. Data integration allows for analysis acrossrndata sources to optimize decision making based on performance-based criteria.rnAgencies have different data inventories, IT, GIS, and data governance structures andrnpractices. While the practices may be different, there are commonalities in the needs of today’srnDOTs. These data-driven organizations are requiring that business decisions consider impactsrnbeyond single business units and primary intent. For example, decisions for safetyrncountermeasures can impact maintenance costs and needs, and the durability of therncountermeasures is impacted by winter maintenance activities. In order to make strategic decisionsrnthat consider multiple criteria, it is necessary for data to be integrated in a manner that facilitatesrnreview across time and in a geospatial framework.