Every year, each MPO and SDOT must decide what projects to include in its Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), respectively. These decisions are based upon a variety of factors, including travel demand, need for facility maintenance and repair, land-use changes, economic growth, environmental needs, and other factors.

SDOTs and MPOs also must be able track these projects as they pass through various stages toward actual construction, such stages including facility planning, engineering, and design; right-of-way acquisition; advertising; bid review; construction scheduling; and related phases of work. These stages usually occur over several years, and the projects are constantly being modified as they pass through the stages.

Also, SAFETEA-LU requires increased participation by local officials and citizens in the planning and decision-making processes of these agencies. All these duties and functions require increasing sophistication by the MPOs and SDOTs in the areas of data management, decision support, and information dissemination. A system is needed that is easy to use, can store and manipulate large amounts of data, and can present this data to decision makers and citizens in a coherent and timely manner.