MY LATEST RESEARCH
“Project Scoping Process for Metropolitan Planning Organizations”
This is a significant research for me as it represented the opportunity to write my first paper as researcher. In collaboration with Dr. Amir Hessami, we tried to improve Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) transportation plans by enhancing the project-scoping process.
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A gap analysis at the national level revealed that a lack of defined project-development processes hampers MPOs’ efforts to implement Metropolitan Transportation Programs (MTPs) and Transportation Improvement Plans (TIPs).
The objective of this paper is to present a robust project-scoping framework specifically tailored for MPOs. The framework consists of three consecutive stages.
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Implementing this multi-stage scoping process in a consistent fashion can help to ensure a more effective development trajectory as well as accurate comparisons among different potential projects. As a result, MPOs can increase confidence in their budgeting and scheduling, ultimately resulting in greater transportation benefits to the public.
By Gabriel Odreman & Dr. Amir Hessami
QUICK FACT:
I presented a poster of this research in the 2018 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting.
MASTER'S THESIS
“Definition of minimum qualifications to develop front-end planning on projects funded through MPOs”
In my current studies at the graduate level, I am developing this topic as my thesis research. Here I am trying to respond to the following questions: What are the minimum qualifications for project teams to develop front-end planning of projects funded through MPOs?
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One important variable on the project scoping process is the qualification of the project team members. Special attention is required to this variable because as the project team qualification increases, the front-end planning will be better supported. Furthermore, by having the right preparation, knowledge, and experience when projecting the scope, the outcome of each estimation is likely to be more precise.