A method of assigning network service templates in a communication network comprising a plurality of network elements that are configured to implement a plurality of network services, wherein the plurality of network service templates define respective first sets of network service parameters for providing the network service; the method comprising: providing a plurality of network service templates for a first network service; providing a network service model for providing the first network service by at least one network element in the communication network, wherein the network service model defines a second set of parameters for providing the network service; generating a plurality of third sets of parameters, each of the third sets of parameters comprising an intersection of one of the plurality of first sets of parameters and the second set of parameters, defining a plurality of shared coordinate systems based on the plurality of third sets of parameters; assigning coordinates to the network service model and each network service template; for each of the shared coordinate systems, generating a metric based on the parameters of the network service model and the network service templates represented in the shared coordinate system; comparing the plurality of network service templates with the network service model, said comparing comprising: evaluating, for each of the shared coordinate systems, the metric for the network service model and the plurality of network service templates based on the shared coordinate system of each network service template / network service model pair and comparing the results of the evaluation to determine how close the network service model is to each of the network service templates; and associating at least one network service template with the closest network service model in response to the comparison. providing a plurality of network service templates for a first network service; providing a network service model for providing the first network service by at least one network element in the communication network, wherein the network service model defines a second set of parameters for providing the network service; generating a plurality of third sets of parameters, each of the third sets of parameters comprising an intersection of one of the plurality of first sets of parameters and the second set of parameters, defining a plurality of shared coordinate systems based on the plurality of third sets of parameters; assigning coordinates to the network service model and each network service template; for each of the shared coordinate systems, generating a metric based on the parameters of the network service model and the network service templates represented in the shared coordinate system; comparing the plurality of network service templates with the network service model, said comparing comprising: evaluating, for each of the shared coordinate systems, the metric for the network service model and the plurality of network service templates based on the shared coordinate system of each network service template / network service model pair and comparing the results of the evaluation to determine how close the network service model is to each of the network service templates; and associating at least one network service template with the closest network service model in response to the comparison.