Operations research

Operations research, operational research, or simply OR, is the use of mathematical models, statistics and algorithms to aid in decision-making. It is most often used to analyze complex real-world systems, typically with the goal of improving or optimizing performance. It is one form of applied mathematics.

Professional societies

The International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) is an umbrella organization for operations research societies worldwide. Significant among these are the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) and the Operational Research Society (ORS). EURO is the association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO). CORS is the Canadian Operations Research Society (CORS). ASOR is the Australian Society for Operations Research (ASOR). MORS is the Military Operations Research Society (MORS)--based in the United States since 1966 with the objective of enhancing the quality and usefulness of military operations research analysis in support of defense decisions. ORSNZ is the Operations Research Society of New Zealand (ORSNZ). ORSP is the Operations Research Society of the Philippines.

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In 2004, INFORMS began an initiative to better market the OR profession, including a website entitled The Science of Better, which provides an introduction to OR and examples of successful applications of OR to industrial problems.

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