ABSTRACT
Starting from the application and under the supervision of France Telecom's Central Switching-System Documentation Office, the NIDEM project was launched in order to develop a company-wide application designed to assist the field operators during emergencies. In telephone switching centers, documentation is the main source of information for it contains the manufacturer's entire engineering knowledge. The main flaw of this documentation lies in its design which is oriented towards the hardware and software description and their functions. This lack has lead a group of France Telecom's operators to develop for their own use an application aimed at relating appropriate procedure tests to relevant references of documentation. The vast program should end up with the creation of a company-wide on-line assistance program which serves to improve the maintenance work of field operators and to maximize the availability of switching systems, the heart of the telecommunications network.
