Case study
CELINE
Problem definition and goal
CELINE was designed for GNOC (Global network operation center). GNOC is responsible for the maintenance of Orange affiliates network infrastructure. To achieve this goal, access to information about the network’s infrastructure is paramount.
The original approach for GNOC with regards to inventory management was to access whatever tools are available in the country for which they provide services. It was clear early on that working with different systems from huge inventory solutions like NetCracker to Excel spreadsheets was not efficient. Therefore, it was identified that there should be a single inventory solution for GNOC that integrates all data sources available. One could describe the situation as following:
Before CELINE

After CELINE

Challenges
OBJECTIFY has been part of the CELINE project from the very beginning. Our first contribution to the project was to define the problem faced by the GNOC: accessing information scattered across many different data sources.
Soon it was clear that we would have many significant challenges to face:
Data diversity
Data synchronizations
Information instead of data
Data quality assurance
Solutions
Data diversity

Data synchronizations
Data quality assurance


Information instead of data
Having the data does not mean that the user receives all the information they require. To solve this issue, we have put a lot of emphasis on search capabilities across all inventory objects and attributes. Part of the CELINE solution is integration with our own DMS tool that provides storage for unstructured data (work instructions, manuals, common problems, and solutions) and integrates this information into CELINE.
We have also designed and implemented many custom reports which are tailor-made for the daily information requirements of GNOC engineers. These reports allow an aggregated view of data from various sources.