ameter handling via the NMS: implementation and extraction. The first operation concerns how to change the value of a certain parameter. The second one deals more with how to recover the value of a certain parameter. Radio Network Optimisation Table 2.25 Example of the load impact on handover priority Source cell Target cells HO priority HO load factor Load threshold Cell load Final priority Cell X Cell A Cell B Cell C Cell D Parameter Implementation For implementation purposes, the definition of Man-Machine Language (MML) is introduced. This is a formatted way for man to give instructions to the machine. To change a parameter, the MML instruction should contain an identifier of the concerned element, the name of the parameter and the wanted value. Another option is to visualise the wanted parameter graphically and to change its value. This method seems complex and heavy when many different parameters on different cells are concerned. In conclusion, handling parameters can be done either through a graphical interface when a small number of operations is required or through MML commands and scripts when a large amount of data is concerned. Parameter Extraction Parameters can be either visualised at the NMS monitor or extracted from the database. The graphical interface allows the value of a certain parameter to be checked without giving the possibility of making this value available for further use. Hence, it is possible to extract the parameter database automatically through scripts and make it available independently of the availability of the NMS system. Extracting a parameter database is like making a snapshot of the network at a certain moment. It should be noted that parameters do not vary in time but between two moments, some of which may have been changed explicitly by the NMS team. Once the database is extracted, some formatting can take place in order to make it easy for optimisation engineers to run customised queries for special analysis. Parameter Tuning The tuning parameter value is the most sensitiv