Multicriteria Project Portfolio Selection: Case Study for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Transportation strategies encompass a portfolio of projects in which choices must be made between competing alternatives. An appropriate portfolio of projects is essential for the success and growth of transportation agencies. The introduction and implementation of emerging technologies such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS) increase the need for more effective decision-making approaches and project selection in the coming years. Transportation projects, particularly, have a broad impact on the public and are multicriteria in nature. The projects also involve several elements of risk, such as project success, public acceptance, or public image. Traditional methods of project evaluation such as benefit–cost analysis focus mainly on the financial rewards of projects and do not sufficiently consider multicriteria and risk evaluations in an integrated framework. Development of an objective and systematic methodology that could address the multicriteria nature of the projects and also deal with their risks and rewards is necessary for both private and public agencies. This need is important particularly when new technologies are implemented, information on project impacts is insufficient, and resources are constrained. An integrated project portfolio selection model is introduced based on the well-established methodologies used for multicriteria evaluation and proven concepts used for portfolio selection in the finance discipline. The new methodology significantly facilitates decision making by integrating both the risk and the value of projects. A case study for selecting ITS projects in a public agency is demonstrated. Guidance is provided in nontechnical language for interpreting the outputs of the methodology.