Local Network Management System an experience in AM/FM project implementation in Telekom Malaysia

Implementation Plan
The LNMS project is to be implemented in two phases, i.e:

Phase 1
Pilot implementation at 2 exchange areas. The purpose of the pilot implementation is to fully test the developed application system and to gauge the extent of conversion requirements

Phase 2
National roll-out after completion of Phase I will be phased by Regions to more than 500 exchange areas covering an approximately 330,000 sq. km. of land. The roll-out involves extensive effort to convert over 40,000 physical maps and transform local network planning, development and management function into LNMS.

The implementation of Phase 2 is staggered over 2 stages. Stage 1 involves 7 planning sites whereas Stage 2 involve a further 7 planning sites with 5 remotes site connection.

Phase 1 Implementation
In October 1991, Phase 1 commenced. The scope of work for Phase 1 comprises the development of applications and data conversion of two pilot exchange areas, with about 20,000 ECP each. The project was completed in 1994. Implementation of Phase 1 has provided a valuable experience to the project team. Amongst others, important lessons learned from the implementation are:

the project will not succeed without the management support as every stage of implementation;
user must be involved continuously, and commitment from supervisory staff must be obtained throughout the project;
source document preparation is a very major effort as some document are lost over the years, and remaining document are not updated properly. It is also noted that a lot document are sketch map;
duct space record is mostly non-existent, or totally out of date;
data conversion is a very tedious and time consuming process, require planning to the very detail. It will be a long wait for the planners if data conversion were to be completed before planner start using the system;
due to the fast pace of development, amount of backlog created is tremendous;
generally, younger employee tend to absorb the technology faster than older ones;
as the implementation of Phase 1 involved learning of technology application, it has taken a long time to implement. As a result, user enthusiasm could not be maintained;
dedicated personnel are required to maintain the converted data. This will cater for network changes carried out by Network Operation and Maintenance group as well as new development areas to be captured in the system.

After careful evaluation, the decision for roll-out was made in May 1995 by the company top management. However, for the project to be successful, implementation strategy must be modified to overcome potential problems identified in Phase 1.

Phase 2 Implementation

Critical Success Factors
Other than having a strong project team, two factors were identified as critical to the successful implementation of LNMS Phase 2 project. They are :

Management support;
User involvement and commitment.