Operations analysis—the promise and the pitfalls

Operations Analysis comes to education too highly recommended to be ignored, after having grown into wide usefulness in industry and government. Reservations about its use stem from the differences between industry and education. As the practitioners of Operations Analysis grew in numbers and experience, they became recognized agents in the constantly necessary changes in industry. Education, now lacking well-defined roles for Operations Analysis, might well seek the help of the private sector in using its tools. The pitfalls to be avoided, however, are: decision-making when only information is called for; problem definitions which yield triviality or over-generality; and failure to communicate convincingly to decision-makers. Operations Analysis can fail seriously when it starts from bad data or dubious premises, as well as when it uses ready-made methods without adaptation, or-worst of all-performs in a vacuum.