1. A system for normalizing a performance metric in a wireless communication network, the system comprising: a memory; a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium associated with the processor, the computer readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the processor, perform the following steps: collecting operation data of a network element over a plurality of data collection time periods; determining operational run time of the network element based on the operation data, the operational run time corresponding to an amount of time the network element is operational; calculating a normalization value based on the operational run time; and normalizing the performance metric for the network element using the normalization value, wherein the normalized performance metric is used as a performance metric for the network element in an automated network optimization process.