Objectives are used extensively by Site Planner and Parameter Optimization modules. Each objective is composed of one or more Statistic Data Providers, which supply the key performance indicators (KPIs) that you want to maximize (e.g., network coverage, subscriber coverage) or minimize (e.g., interference).

Accessing the Objectives Collection

You can access the collection of objectives from the Start Page, by first clicking on Optimization, and then clicking on Objectives:

You can also access the collection of objectives from the Optimization > Objectives > Edit List menu command:

Scoring Objectives

The purpose of an objective is to guide Overture's automatic optimization functions as they make configuration changes to the network. An objective can be used to score a particular network configuration; if the configuration changes then the score may be improved or degraded. The automatic optimization functions use these scores to decide whether a proposed configuration change should be accepted or not.

Each Statistic Data Provider in the objective is paired with a Target. The target tells the objective how a particular KPI contributes to the overall score. If the objective has more than one KPI, the scores are calculated in the order specified in the objective. When comparing scores, KPIs are only evaluated only if all prior entries are equal.

Type Of Objective Target

You can access the list of targets for an objective from the List property. Editing this property will display the target collection editor.

The possible objective target types are listed below:

• Maximize. Make the KPI bigger. As an example, you can set up a KPI to maximize the coverage area.
• Minimize. Make the KPI smaller. As an example, you can set up a KPI to minimize interference.
• Monitor. This KPI does not contribute to the overall score, but its value will be reported in the before-and-after statistics.
• Prevent Decrease. Prevent the KPI from decreasing below a given value. As an example, you can use this to prevent the network coverage from falling below a particular value.
• Prevent Increase. Prevent the KPI from increasing above a given value. As an example, you can use this to deal with regulatory requirements that place restrictions on the coverage of areas outside the market boundary.