ssment of the feature; implementation; observation and follow-up; readjustments and assessment; setup of a generalisation planning. The aim of pretesting a new feature is to control some unwanted behaviours better and find the most appropriate parameters set before introduction in the whole network. Automation tools In increasingly complex networks where new technologies are added to already existing GSM, return on investment is important to fulfil in a short period. To improve operational efficiency and free resources for value-added tasks, there is no way out of process automation. Usage of automatic programs varies from simple macros to very specific and complex tools. According to what is presented as important tasks in the previous optimisation process, many operations can be done by means of developing computer programs. The first steps in automation enclose common tasks such as statistics visualisation, adjacency man- agement, geographical illustration, troubleshooting follow-up and documents generation. These fields can be classified into 'administrative automation'. More complex tools are then used for other purposes, such as tasks that demand an analysis of huge amounts of input data such as frequency and adjacency planning, parameters optimisation, location area planning and cellular troubleshooting. Classification of these goes under 'technical automation'. Administrative Automation Every task that is repetitive in a network optimisation activity can be automated to a certain level. Administrative automation brings the advantage of minimising human error risks. An automation process is shown in Figure 2.54. Radio Network Optimisation Task Repetitive Keep on doing & time-consuming manually Define inputs/outputs Agree on format Develop tool Verification & Control mechanism Implementation Figure 2.54 Administrative automation process The process described here is based on a simple idea which says that, whatever the task needed to automate, the control mechanism should allow validation of the tool accordi