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What do you do if your Operations Research expertise is tested in high-pressure situations?

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Operations research (OR) is a discipline that uses mathematical models and methods to help decision makers solve complex problems. OR experts often work in teams and collaborate with other professionals from different fields. However, sometimes they may face high-pressure situations where they have to apply their OR skills quickly, accurately, and confidently. How can you prepare for and cope with such scenarios? Here are some tips to help you.

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Richard Oberdieck

Seasoned Analytics Professional | Lead Data Scientist at BankingCircle
Juan Manuel GarcÃa LÃ³pez

Showing businesses how to get the most value out of Advanced Analytics

1 Know your basics

Before you tackle any OR problem, you need to have a solid foundation of the core concepts, techniques, and tools of OR. This includes linear and nonlinear programming, network analysis, simulation, optimization, game theory, and more. You should also be familiar with the software and programming languages that are commonly used in OR, such as Excel, MATLAB, Python, R, and CPLEX. Reviewing your basics regularly and practicing with different types of problems can help you refresh your memory and sharpen your skills.

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Richard Oberdieck

Seasoned Analytics Professional | Lead Data Scientist at BankingCircle
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I don't agree with this completely. I don't consider game theory, Excel, MATLAB or R "basics" for OR. Instead, I would focus on knowing: - The underlying principles that drive your problem: mass and energy balance for engineering, flow balance for supply chain, asset allocation for finance. - Get a good understanding of linear algebra: can you derive linear relations between different parts of your system? - Know your degrees of freedom: what are the actual levers you can use to influence the outcome of your decision problem? Those are your main variables.

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2 Understand the context

When you are faced with a high-pressure OR problem, you need to understand the context and the objectives of the problem. What are the assumptions, constraints, variables, and criteria that define the problem? What are the data sources, inputs, outputs, and measures of performance that you need to consider? What are the stakeholders, risks, and uncertainties that may affect the problem? Asking these questions can help you clarify the problem and identify the most relevant and appropriate OR methods to apply.

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Juan Manuel GarcÃa LÃ³pez

Showing businesses how to get the most value out of Advanced Analytics
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In addition to performance measures, it is important to understand what are the expected business drivers, linked to their respective stakeholders. In many real situations the job of the OR person is an acting job of balancing opposing stakeholders' interests.

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3 Plan your approach

Once you have a clear understanding of the problem, you need to plan your approach and strategy. How will you formulate, model, and solve the problem? What steps will you follow and what tools will you use? How will you validate, test, and interpret your results? How will you communicate and present your findings and recommendations? Planning your approach can help you organize your thoughts, prioritize your tasks, and allocate your time and resources efficiently.

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4 Be flexible and creative

Sometimes, you may encounter unexpected challenges or difficulties when solving an OR problem. For example, you may find that the data is incomplete, inaccurate, or inconsistent. You may discover that the problem is too complex, nonlinear, or dynamic for the standard OR methods. You may realize that the problem has multiple or conflicting objectives, criteria, or solutions. In such cases, you need to be flexible and creative. You may need to adapt, modify, or combine different OR methods, or develop new ones. You may need to simplify, approximate, or decompose the problem. You may need to use heuristics, algorithms, or simulation to find feasible or optimal solutions.

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Juan Manuel GarcÃa LÃ³pez

Showing businesses how to get the most value out of Advanced Analytics
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To mitigate common conflicting problems, it is important to involve stakeholders in the solution obtaining process - not only in the problem definition phase. If the final product is flexible so that stakeholders can 'play' with problem parameters and obtain not one, but many alternative solutions, the final solution chosen is theirs and acceptance is higher.

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5 Seek feedback and support

Finally, you need to seek feedback and support from your peers, mentors, or experts when solving an OR problem. You can benefit from their insights, perspectives, and experiences. They can help you check your assumptions, validate your results, or suggest alternative approaches. They can also provide you with encouragement, motivation, or advice on how to cope with stress, anxiety, or frustration. Seeking feedback and support can help you improve your OR skills, learn from your mistakes, and overcome your challenges.

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6 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that donâ€™t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Adam J. Hepworth, PhD

Director | Global Military AI Expert | Tech Innovation | Artificial Intelligence | Decision Science | Operations Research | Robotics & Autonomous Systems | Visiting Fellow
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Handling high-pressure situations as an OR analyst requires a blend of technical expertise, methodical problem-solving, and effective communication. You can navigate these challenges effectively by focusing on problem definition, selecting appropriate methodologies, assessing solution quality, and maintaining a collaborative and flexible approach. The ability to ensure your solutions are considered and deliberate will lead to more methodical outcomes and reinforce the value of OR expertise in strategic decision-making.

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What do you do if your Operations Research expertise is tested in high-pressure situations?

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1 Know your basics

2 Understand the context

3 Plan your approach

4 Be flexible and creative

5 Seek feedback and support

6 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

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What do you do if your Operations Research expertise is tested in high-pressure situations?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Know your basics

2 Understand the context

3 Plan your approach

4 Be flexible and creative

5 Seek feedback and support

6 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

Operations Research

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