PrioritasCS™ Project Prioritization Tool	Download PDF
PrioritasCS™, developed by Cambridge Systematics, Inc., is software to rank and prioritize transportation projects. PrioritasCS will enable your agency to implement a customized, data-driven, and transparent process that reflects policy goals and objectives.

Background | Benefits | Case Studies | About Us | Technical Specifications | Contact Information

Background

Even the smallest transportation agency has hundreds of pending transportation projects – others have thousands. But agencies must focus their limited resources and complete only the most critical projects each year. How does an agency determine which projects receive final approval and funding? Project prioritization can be done subjectively, with a long debate each time a decision must be made; or prioritization can be done quickly and objectively in advance based on a thoughtful discussion about priorities and goals. Cambridge Systematics can lead your agency through the development of a project prioritization methodology, and PrioritasCS can automate the finalized process. Using PrioritasCS:

• Cambridge Systematics works with agency staff to develop and tailor a project prioritization process to meet the agency’s specific needs and goals.

• Cambridge Systematics then customizes PrioritasCS to support the new methodology.

• Project data are loaded into the system and evaluated by PrioritasCS.

• Users can view the projects and see the impacts of their agency’s custom prioritization scheme.

With PrioritasCS, agency staff can make informed and objective project prioritization decisions.  PrioritasCS is intended to provide an objective decision-making tool to support the normal give and take of agency, stakeholder, and public debate.

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Benefits

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• Customized and Supported – PrioritasCS is more than just a piece of off-the-shelf software.  Experienced Cambridge Systematics consultants work with your agency and stakeholders to develop prioritization criteria and weights that map closely to your agency’s long-range goals.  PrioritasCS can be used to assess whether the criteria and weights are correct, and can easily accommodate changes in priorities that occur naturally over time.
• Quantitative and Objective – Once the prioritization process is defined, PrioritasCS objectively evaluates and ranks each project using transparent, quantitative metrics.  Receiving pressure to implement a pet project?  Use the quantitative ranking produced by PrioritasCS to defend prioritization choices.  Choose the transportation improvements that make the greatest positive impacts on the transportation network.
• Web-based and Transparent – PrioritasCS is web-based, so project data, scores, and rankings can be made available to any authorized user in your agency or stakeholder organizations.  Access rights and the ability to make changes in the system are distributed by the lead agency as needed.  The entire prioritization methodology along with the specific evaluation factors and weights are documented clearly.  Remove the guesswork from project selection.

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Case Studies

Too Many Projects to Manage – Georgia’s Department of Transportation had more than 1,500 transportation projects pending in three program categories when its staff began working with Cambridge Systematics to develop a prioritization methodology.  That methodology was fed into PrioritasCS.  Georgia DOT now has the means to objectively evaluate these projects based on a combination of benefit/cost ratio and the extent to which they support agency goals.  Results from PrioritasCS are incorporated into the DOT’s programming process.

Looking for Objective Comparisons – Data-driven, objective calculations are an excellent foundation for resource distribution decisions.  Why did one area or project receive funding over another?  Several Cambridge Systematics products have been cited by clients in the resolution of disputes such as these.  PrioritasCS users can make these calculations as specific or flexible as they choose.

Keeping up with Changes – Agencies put considerable thought into their ranking choices and prioritization system, but these priorities and goals change over time.  Prioritascs can grow and change with the agency’s priorities.

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Cambridge Systematics – Leaders in Transportation

Cambridge Systematics is a leading, full-service provider of software development and information technology services to the transportation industry. We make your agency more productive and efficient by combining our extensive knowledge and experience in transportation with superb skills in information technology.

When you call on Cambridge Systematics, you get a team of experts with decades of practical experience in both transportation and information technology.  Our consulting staff can help you develop cost-effective strategic planning processes, leverage valuable asset inventory and condition data, and improve collaboration among agencies.  Our information technology staff helps you streamline business processes, architect systems and databases, evaluate tools and technologies, and develop strategic roadmaps for investing in information technology. We understand your business problems, your technical challenges, and your institutional and funding constraints.

In short, we are transportation experts, and we bring our expertise to the table in every PrioritasCS deployment.

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PrioritasCS Technical Specifications

PrioritasCS is a web-based application (ASP.NET, C#, Microsoft SQL Server) and is designed for Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or later.  PrioritasCS can be licensed as a fully-supported, hosted application, or installed on-site as part of a client’s IT environment.

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Contact Information

Joseph Guerre, Principal, Cambridge Systematics, Inc.; 317-841-8972; jguerre@camsys.com

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