Joint Development in AASHTOWare Project™

May 31, 2022

Joint development is the core principle of the AASHTOWare Project. The software evolves through rigorous collaboration by enabling agencies to pool funds and drive enhancements forward in AASHTOWare Project. Joint development provides a means for AASHTO member agencies to pool their business, technical, and financial resources together on a voluntary basis to produce a product truly created for the user community because it’s made and collaborated on by the user community.

The joint development process isn’t just helpful for maximizing agency funds and resources – it’s crucial to the success of the AASHTOWare Project. Agency participation and user community involvement ensure that federal and states’ unique requirements are addressed. When users share experiences and best business practices, it helps make the product successful.

Many agencies have benefitted from the joint development process. In a recent case study, members of the Nebraska Department of Transportation and Minnesota Department of Transportation shared their experience with joint development.

For Nebraska, one of the most significant benefits of joint development is the power to expedite the development timeline. After identifying a TMR in the AASHTOWare Project Estimation module, Nebraska partnered with other agencies to fund the enhancement so they could get the functionality sooner rather than later.

“It allows the agencies to push the priorities themselves… When agencies coalesce together and are willing to provide funding outside of what the PTF provides, it allows us to say, ‘this is a priority for us, and here’s the money for it,’ which usually makes it a higher priority for development.” – Devin Townsend, Nebraska DOT.

In Minnesota, cost savings are a clear benefit to joint development, as the agency can easily compare the original proposal to the split costs. But equally important is collaboration, specifically, finding the right agencies to work with on an enhancement. To find those agencies, the agency suggests getting involved with the AASHTOWare Project user community through groups like the Technical Advisory Group (TAG).

“The best thing we have for people who aren’t interested in a leadership role are the TAGs. You can talk about almost anything you want. We talked to Louisiana at one point about funding a TMR, and that’s where it started, the TAG. Even if it doesn’t work out, you’re still making in-roads, talking to people, and getting ready for next time.” – Charles Groshens, MnDOT.

Finding the right agency partners is just the first step. Agencies will need to work together to balance differing priorities and requirements, remaining patient and flexible as the process continues. Since enhancements need to be fairly generic to be added to AASHTOWare Project, evolving the TMR to meet different needs is just part of the process.
While collaboration takes effort, the result is ultimately worth it. Joint development gives agencies the power to prioritize key enhancements at fractional costs compared to traditional development. If your agency is interested in joint development but isn’t sure where to start, please reach out to your Infotech Account Manager. They may be able to help you connect with other agencies and get the conversation started.

By:

Janet Treadway, AASHTOWare Project – Business Administrator, Ohio Department of Transportation

Chad Schafer, Vice President of Revenue, Infotech