The Massachusetts Regional ITS Architectures provide the basis for satisfying federal ITS regulations, which require ITS projects to be consistent with the appropriate Regional ITS Architecture(s). The intent of these regulations is to ensure that the relationship between a project and the architecture is considered early and often in the development of the project. Considering consistency early in the project planning process will help ensure that the project is developed with consideration for the recommendations of the architecture, that opportunities for interagency coordination are maximized, and that delays in federal funding are avoided.

The approach for the inital architecture consistency review should consist of the following steps:

1. Select the appropriate Regional ITS Architecture(s) based on the location of your project.
2. Review Market Packages in the Regional ITS Architecture to determine which market packages will best meet the requirements of your project. Selection of market packages will be based on having the applicable Elements and Architecture Flows to provide the intended service(s) of your project. In some cases, more than one market package will be selected to meet the entire project scope. If there is no relvant market package in the architecture (or if the relevant market package does not meet your requirements), the architecture may need to be updated (see Step #6).
3. Based on the market packages, determine which agencies, organizations and stakeholders, beyond your own organization should be involved in the project. Initiate discussions with these partners, if you have not already done so, and determine opportunities for collaboration and cooperation.
4. Develop a concept of operations for the project using the results of the market package review and identification of stakeholders to be included in the project. The concept of operations defines the institutional relationships and high-level information flows among the organizations for the deployment and operation of the project. The development of the Regional ITS Architectures included the definition of an “Operational Concept” for each region. These documents, found in the Project Documents section of each region, may be useful in developing a project-level concept of operations. This concept of operations will also be useful in the systems engineering analysis required as part of the ITS project development process.
5. Identify the elements and interfaces that are relevant to you project. One way of doing this is by developing a project-level architecture diagram that indicates entities (stakeholders and elements), information exchanges, and applicable equipment packages. This can be accomplished by customizing the market package diagrams identified for your project, and may include the removal or addition of entities and/or information flows or the joining of two or more diagrams.
6. Identify any market packages, entities, elements and information flows provided by the project that are not currently included in the Regional ITS Architecture. Work with your regional planning partners to determine if modifications to the architecture are required and how these should be accomplished. If you have further questions, click here to send feedback.

In addition to an initial review, as a project develops further, consistency with the architecture must be revisited in order to ensure that it has not been affected by changes to the project scope. Moreover, as a project progresses into the design stage, it must undergo a systems engineering analysis. More information on the systems engineering process and the associated federal requirements can be found here.