ASP, the art and science of practice: Elements of a theory of the practice of operations research: Expertise in practice

This is the second paper in a series of three (Murphy 2005a, b) on the practice of operations research. In the first paper I described an overall framework for a theory of practice and discussed the potential of cognitive science as an organizing framework of the knowledge and skills that make for good practice. Expertise in the context of OR practice consists of technical knowledge, institutional knowledge, and procedures and heuristics for bringing that knowledge to bear on the problem at hand and organizational issues. I illustrate technical expertise and heuristics using linear programming modeling and infeasibility analysis. Soft-OR techniques are useful for developing an understanding of the more complex and ill-formed issues an organization faces.