Boise Airport outlines IT master plan to support passenger experience and operational growth
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Summary
The airport's IT business relationship manager presented a near-final IT master plan focused on passenger experience, operational excellence, data-driven decision making and an innovation program; deliverables are expected this month and projects will be prioritized against capital work such as the concourse program.
Jamie Daniel, the airport's IT business relationship manager, presented a near-final IT master plan at the June 4 Boise Airport Commission meeting that maps technology investments intended to support passenger experience and operational growth.
Daniel described the plan, developed with consultant JWG (JW Group), as a strategic road map that aligns technology with airport business objectives and said the final master plan, road map and project plan should be delivered this month with an executive presentation "in the next month, month and a half," depending on schedules.
Why it matters: staff said the airport is growing and will need technology to scale operations, support a new concourse, reduce manual administrative work and provide real-time passenger information.
Key points from the presentation: the plan centers on four strategic areas'enhancing passenger experience; enhancing employee and stakeholder experience; operational excellence; and establishing an innovative culture. Daniel said the team held current-state and future-state workshops with more than 40 stakeholders, performed a gap analysis, and developed prioritized initiatives and a sequencing road map that will include funding estimates and timing.
Projects already underway or in pilot stages include a common-use passenger processing pilot (which would let multiple airlines use the same ticket counters and gates) with an RFP expected this month or next, and implementation of a project management information system for engineering and planning teams. The plan also recommends building a central data warehouse and data-management tools to enable data-driven decisions, Daniel said.
Daniel described an organizational maturity assessment that rates the airport's IT as a "trusted operator" today with a goal to reach the "business partner" level next year. The assessment informed recommended changes such as establishing technology governance and a data strategy.
Commissioners asked about funding and delivery methods for customer-facing tools. Daniel said prioritization and funding decisions will be made through airport governance: deputy directors will help prioritize projects, the airport director will approve them, and staff will brief the commission. On delivery, Daniel said pilots and industry experience suggest real-time website information and targeted SMS messages (noting that native mobile apps do not always achieve broad adoption) are promising ways to deliver passenger-facing alerts and parking/queue information.
Ending: Daniel said the IT plan will be a living document and staff will align it with the airport master plan and other strategic planning. "This is the Boise Airport's technology plan," she said, "and we've had great engagement from the team."
