Case Study: California Transportation Improvement Program System (CTIPS)

I. Introduction

The California Transportation Improvement Program System (CTIPS) is a database system that stores California's federally required statewide transportation improvement program projects in a central location. The database also stores project information associated with California's major discrete programming processes such as State Highway Operations and Protection Program (SHOPP) and the State mandated transportation improvement program projects. The use of the CTIPS database system is considered crucial to the successful management of project programming and funds allocation, particularly as projects increase in cost and quantity.

• The CTIPS database system is deployed over the Internet and it is accessible to over 1100 users at:
  • 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs),
  • 48 Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs),
  • California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) headquarters office and 12 district offices,
  • California Transportation Commission (CTC),
  • Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) California Division, and
  • Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Region Nine.
• 16 of 18 MPOs currently use the CTIPS database system to submit their projects for approval at the state and federal levels. At each stage in the approval process, project statuses are updated on the system in real time and are viewable to all parties.
• CTIPS is customized to meet the different regulatory and management needs. As a central data collection point holding all the STIP and SHOPP data, CTIPS enables MPOs to build the Federal TIP quickly and accurately by electronically transferring all STIP and SHOPP projects into the Federal TIP with just a few mouse clicks.
• The CTIPS database system captures all TIP listing information for which state and federal regulations require documentation.
• As a web-based tool, CTIPS enables agencies to search for and view all pertinent project TIP listing information and to prepare and print customized reports.

II. Benefits

Under the former project management system, MPOs submitted their project documents individually and in various formats. There was no easy way to track or research project information that was stored in dozens of loose-leaf binders. The introduction of the CTIPS database system, on the other hand, has resulted in an automated repository of project information, which is consistent across agencies and easily accessible to all stakeholders. Primary benefits include:

• Increasing accuracy in researching project information and decreasing the time it takes to do so by an estimated 95%.
• Improving communication between employees at different agencies, who can now electronically obtain the same project information that they would have previously requested via phone or mail.
• Allowing funds formerly designated for administrative expenses to now be available for transportation projects.

III. CTIPS Features

The CTIPS database system is accessible to state, federal and local government agencies that have an identified business need for access. To log on, users navigate to the Transportation Programming site on the Caltrans website, where they are prompted to enter a user name and password. A help feature is available to assist users in interpreting the information viewable on the CTIPS screens, searching for projects and understanding state and federal project programming processes.

A. Security

Levels of access vary by agency and user. Senior staff members at Caltrans Division of Transportation Programming have full read/write and approval access to all documents stored on the CTIPS database system. Users at the MPO and RTPA level have write access only to the project documents for which their agency is responsible. Only state users with approval rights can approve state TIP projects. Most users have read access only, which enables them to research the project information they need without inadvertently altering it. Upon logging in to the program, users can verify what their user rights and privileges are and can contact their account administrator at Caltrans to resolve any issues that may arise. The example page below demonstrates how a user would view his or her user profile and rights.

[Figure 1: Screen shot showing how users view their individual user profiles.]

B. Data entry

Project data are entered into the CTIPS database system at the MPO and Statewide levels. Users with write access to the CTIPS database system can add projects by selecting the "Add New" option. In order to save a new project into the system, the user must enter information for the following seven specific fields: District; expenditure authority; project planning number; TIP identification number; county or RTPA; implementing agency or project sponsor; project title; location; description; and MPO. All other project information can be added at a later date. In the screen shot below the essential information required upon adding a new project is shaded in blue.

[Figure 2: Screen shot showing the essential information required
upon adding new projects to the CTIPS database system.]

C. Research Project Information

CTIPS affords easy access to detailed project information from which users at all levels can benefit. Projects can be searched by district, county, route, expenditure authority, project planning number, MPO identification number, project element, document type, project program code, MPO, agency, CTIPS identification number, project description and project title. The many different search options available enable users to find projects easily, even if they only have limited information about the project. Upon locating sought projects in the database, users can obtain all information for which the state and federal governments require documentation. Project information is divided into the following four categories: 1) Project Definition, 2) Funding, 3) Legislative, and 4) Timely Use of Funds. The screen shots below demonstrate the specific information available for each.

1. Project Definition — Users can select this tab to view general project information including the specifications listed previously as search categories. The screen shot below shows the information available within the Project Definition tab.

[Figure 3: Screen shot showing information available with in the Project Definition tab.]

2. Funding — Users can select this tab to view funding source, status and date information. The screen shot below shows the information available within the Funding tab.

[Figure 4: Screen shot showing information available within the Funding tab.]

3. Legislative — Users can select this tab to determine the State Assembly, Senate and Congressional Districts associated with each project. The screen shot below shows the information available within the Legislative tab.

[Figure 5: Screen shot showing information available within the Legislative tab]

4. Timely Use of Funds — Users can select this tab to determine when a project's funds must be allocated and/or awarded and if any extensions have been approved. The screen shot below shows the information available within the Timely Use of Funds tab.

[Figure 6: Screen shot showing information available within the Timely Use of Funds tab]

D. Reports

Included in the CTIPS database application is a report feature that enables users to print pre-formatted reports or to create and print customized reports. Once a report is created it is stored in the system so that other users may also view and print it if desired. Users can design reports that draw from Adopted, Current Official, Current Working and Amendment documents. They can shorten the report by including only projects within a particular county, district or MPO, or they can include projects across the entire state. Users can sort reports by a number of parameters such as funding type, project planning number, county, district, and program category, and they can select from a variety of layout options. Currently, users cannot run reports providing program obligation information. However, Caltrans anticipates adding the ability to do so in the future.

E. Online Approval

A great source of timesavings generated by the CTIPS database system is in its online project approval feature. Using the CTIPS database system, MPOs can electronically submit their projects to the state for approval. The state can submit projects for approval at the federal level electronically. Although the federal offices do not currently use the online approval feature as their primary method of TIP and STIP approval documentation, they do use it to indicate the date upon which associated approval letters have been signed. This process enables interested parties to view electronically the date upon which projects have become eligible for federal funds. The three screen shots below demonstrate how project approval is handled over the CTIPS database system at each step in the process.

[Figure 7: Screen shot showing how project approval is handled
over the CTIPS database system at the MPO level]

[Figure 8: Screen shot showing how project approval is handled
over the CTIPS database system at the state level]

[Figure 9: Screen shot showing how project approval is handled
over the CTIPS database system at the federal level]

IV. CTIPS Development

In 1998 it was evident that the system employed for transportation project management, heavily paper reliant, was in need of improvement. In June of 1999, Caltrans hired a consultant to conduct a business process review in hopes of identifying optimal improvement strategies. As a result of the six-month review, the contractor strongly recommended that Caltrans automate the process by which it collected and managed projects. Other recommendations included collecting standardized data at the source, generating the STIP directly from MPO and RTPA databases, expediting the approval process with electronic rating and digital signature approval, educating stakeholders and eliminating clerical tasks to allow staff to spend time on other tasks.

In 1998 Caltrans established its Data Base User Group (D-BUG) composed of representatives from 16 MPOs, Caltrans, FHWA, FTA and other key agencies. For 12 months, D-BUG met on a monthly basis to collaborate on and determine the business processes around which to structure the Visual FoxPro code behind the CTIPS database system. In October of 1999, the first version of the CTIPS database system was ready for deployment. Since then continual upgrades have enhanced the user experience and kept up with additional legislative requirements. To educate users, Caltrans embarked on an intensive training program. Up until 2002 training sessions were held in each of 12 Caltrans districts on an annual basis. In the past two years the rate at which training is conducted has been reduced and is currently held in about five Caltrans districts each year.

V. Challenges and Lessons Learned

The development of the CTIPS database system was not without its challenges. Perhaps the most difficult aspect was gaining consensus across numerous agencies on the business processes around which to model the CTIPS program. Prior to the development of CTIPS many did not to see how the many approaches practiced by different agencies could be consolidated. However, through the monthly meetings agencies were able to identify areas of overlap and to point out areas of improvement. After 12 months of discussion, a global consensus on the most useful report format was never reached. Caltrans compensated for this difficulty by encouraging agencies with similar reporting requirements to agree to standard report formats with each other. As a result, there are currently five different report formats reflected in the CTIPS database system. Another issue is that two MPOs, due to the nature of their regions, do not directly benefit from using the CTIPS database system as a management tool. As a solution, those agencies, while engaging in management practices alternative to CTIPS, have agreed to send compatible, electronic files to Caltrans that can be imported into the CTIPS database system.

VI. Next Steps

Caltrans intends to expand the CTIPS methodology and to apply it to other program areas. By 2006 Caltrans plans to:

• Electronically connect the CTIPS database system into work plans and time sheets for project budget tracking so that Caltrans may more accurately measure programmed amounts against what has actually been spent.
• Incorporate CTIPS database, Local Project Authorization, and Federal Aid information so that they are accessible from a single source. In order to achieve this goal, Caltrans will either consolidate the three separate databases into one, or it will draw information from each separate database into a single data warehouse. Either way, users across agencies and work areas will benefit by having broader access to interrelated information.

VII. Contact Information

Dung Nguyen (916-654-4843)
California Transportation Improvement Program System (CTIPS)