| Course | MMPA 6451 Public Policy Analysis |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 8 |
| Paper type | Memo |
| Length | About 880 words, 5 pages |
| Format | Memo, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Public Administration (MPA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MMPA 6451 Week 8
Memorandum
To: Chief Operating Officer, Corliss Area Transit Authority
From: Policy Analyst, Planning Department
Date: Week 8
Re: Implementation requirements for fare capping, mapped from the point of delivery upward
The Behavior the Policy Must Produce
Fare capping succeeds only if one thing happens at the point of delivery: a rider who taps enough times in a month stops being charged, knows it, and trusts the system enough to keep riding on a card rather than buying a pass out of caution. Elmore (1979) argued that implementation planning should begin with this kind of statement, the specific behavior the policy must produce where it meets the public, and then work backward through each level of the organization, asking what each must do to make that behavior possible. Forward mapping, which begins with the board's intent and works down, tends to assume that each level will do what the level above expects. This memo works from the rider up. The Corliss Area Transit Authority and its offices are composite.
Level 1: Operators and Station Staff
Riders ask operators and station staff about fares more than anyone else, and those staff are the ones who must explain capping in a sentence. Lipsky (2010) showed that front-line workers make policy in practice through the way they handle routine encounters, and a confused answer at the farebox can undo the best design. Operators need a short script, a one-page card with three common questions and answers, and a clear message that capping changes nothing about how they handle fare disputes or enforcement. They should not be asked to check whether a rider has reached the cap; the card reader will show "capped" on its display when a tap is free.
Level 2: Customer Service Center
Riders who want to know how close they are to the cap, or who believe they were charged after reaching it, will call or visit the customer service center. The center needs a lookup tool showing each account's taps and progress toward the cap for the current period, and authority to issue a credit when the record shows a charge after the cap was reached. It also needs a procedure for disputed taps, such as a rider charged twice on one boarding, resolved within five business days. Without these tools, the center would have to forward every question to the back office, and riders would wait.
Level 3: Back Office
The fare revenue office needs rules for three situations that would otherwise erode trust. Lost cards: if a registered card is lost, the rider's progress toward the cap transfers to the replacement card. Account transfers: a rider who moves balances between cards keeps progress. Unregistered cards: progress follows the card, so riders should be encouraged to register cards to protect it. These rules must be written before launch and loaded into the vendor's system; they cannot be improvised by staff when a rider complains.
Level 4: Fare System Vendor
The vendor needs a signed change order, as described in the Week 5 readiness assessment, to configure the cap rules, update the card reader display, add the progress view to the account portal and lookup tool, and test the configuration over at least one full thirty-day period. The vendor also needs the back office's rules for lost cards and transfers early, since they affect how accounts are linked.
Communication to Riders
Trust depends on riders hearing about the cap before they experience it. The communications office should place notices on every east-side bus and at both transit centers a month before launch, in English and Spanish, with one example: ride 30 times, pay $60, ride the rest of the month free. Libraries and clinics distributing free cards should hand out the same notice. After launch, the account portal and card readers carry the message; a receipt-style monthly summary emailed to registered riders would show each rider what the cap saved them, which reinforces trust and encourages registration.
Level 5: Board
The board's role is smaller than forward mapping would suggest. It must adopt the fare policy, including the cap amount and the period, and fund public communication. It does not need to approve the operational details above, though it should receive a report on them before launch.
Requirements by Level
Table 1
Implementation Requirements by Level and Responsible Office
| Level | Requirement | Responsible office | |
|---|---|---|
| Rider | Stops being charged at the cap, knows it, trusts it | All levels below | |
| Operators and station staff | Script, question card, reader display showing capped taps | Operations and training | |
| Customer service center | Progress lookup tool, credit authority, five-day dispute procedure | Customer service | |
| Back office | Written rules for lost cards, transfers and unregistered cards | Fare revenue office | |
| Vendor | Change order, configuration, display update, thirty-day test | Procurement and information technology | |
| Board | Fare policy adoption and communication funding | Board and executive office | |
Each requirement must be met before launch; the rider row depends on all of them.
Pressman and Wildavsky (1984) observed that programs with many clearance points fail more often than their designers expect, because each point is a chance for delay. This map has five levels, but only the vendor change order and the back office rules depend on decisions outside the operations chain, and both should begin immediately.
References
Elmore, R. F. (1979). Backward mapping: Implementation research and policy decisions. Political Science Quarterly, 94(4), 601-616. https://doi.org/10.2307/2149628
Lipsky, M. (2010). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public service (30th anniversary expanded ed.). Russell Sage Foundation.
Pressman, J. L., & Wildavsky, A. (1984). Implementation (3rd ed.). University of California Press.
The Walden MMPA 6451 Week 8 instructions
Implementation assignments often ask students to apply backward mapping, starting from the behavior a policy must produce at the point of delivery and working up through the organization. Prompts usually ask for each level's requirements and responsible office, and some ask students to contrast backward with forward mapping. Instructors expect the starting behavior to be stated precisely and each level to be tied to it. A memo of four or five pages is common. Sometimes the program being mapped already runs; sometimes it is still on paper. Instructors expect requirements to be specific enough to assign and to check before launch, and they value attention to front-line staff, who answer most public questions.
How this MMPA 6451 Week 8 example is built
The memo defines the target behavior in one sentence and explains Elmore's method. Five sections follow, from operators to the board, each stating what that level needs and why. The operators section cites research on front-line workers. A communication section describes notices before launch and monthly summaries after. A table summarizes requirements by level and office, and a closing paragraph cites research on clearance points. Each level's section explains why its requirement matters to the rider at the farebox, so the chain of reasoning stays visible. The operators section limits their role on purpose, so that capping does not add enforcement duties. The back-office rules are written before launch rather than improvised. Every row names one responsible office.
Where the marks sit in the MMPA 6451 Week 8 rubric
Graders reward a precise target behavior and requirements that follow from it level by level. Recognizing the role of front-line staff in shaping policy in practice earns credit. Specific requirements, such as lost-card rules, show the student has thought about how the policy could fail. Noting that the top level's role is smaller than forward planning assumes captures the method's insight. Rules for edge cases, such as lost cards and unregistered cards, show that trust was taken seriously. Starting the steps that depend on outside parties first shows practical sequencing. A requirements table with owners makes the memo usable as a checklist.
MMPA 6451 Week 8 help from the desk
Describe exactly what must happen when the policy meets a member of the public. Then ask who makes that possible, and what they need, one level at a time. Name the office responsible for each requirement. Look for steps that depend on decisions outside the chain of command and start them first. For a custom sample backward map of your own program, send us the policy. Walk through the rider's experience step by step, from first tap to the month's end, and note every point where something could go wrong. Assign each fix to one office. Plan how the public will hear about the change before they experience it. Keep each section short.
Get a MMPA 6451 Week 8 example written to your instructions
The Week 8 prompt and rubric come first, then the policy whose implementation you are mapping. An MMPA 6451 backward mapping memo returns starting at the point of delivery, with each level's requirements assigned, in 24 to 48 hours; the first order is on the house. Neither the authority nor its vendor exists, and the staff roles are generic.
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MMPA 6451 Week 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MMPA 6451 Week 8 sample paper?
The backward mapping memo for fare capping is on this page.
What is backward mapping?
Planning implementation from the behavior a policy must produce at the point of delivery upward.
What must happen at the point of delivery?
A rider who reaches the cap stops being charged, knows it and trusts the system.
What does the back office need?
Written rules so cap progress survives lost cards and account transfers.
What does the board need to do?
Adopt the fare policy and fund communication.