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    • Operations Research

    Operations Research Courses Online

    Study operations research for solving complex organizational problems. Learn about optimization, simulation, and decision analysis techniques.

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    Explore the Operations Research Course Catalog

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      Status: AI skills
      AI skills
      I

      IBM

      IBM AI Product Manager

      Skills you'll gain: Prompt Engineering, Generative AI, New Product Development, Product Management, Product Lifecycle Management, Product Development, Innovation, Product Roadmaps, Large Language Modeling, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Product Planning, Commercialization, Product Strategy, Project Management Life Cycle, Data Ethics, OpenAI, Stakeholder Engagement, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Stakeholder Management

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      26K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

      Operations Management: Organization and Analysis

      Skills you'll gain: Operations Management, Organizational Strategy, Manufacturing Operations, Operational Analysis, Business Operations, Supply Chain, Inventory Management System, Process Analysis, Decision Making, Strategic Decision-Making, Business Strategy, Process Design, Cost Benefit Analysis, Demand Planning, Capacity Management, Service Level

      Build toward a degree

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.2K reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      M

      Meta

      Meta Front-End Developer

      Skills you'll gain: Jest (JavaScript Testing Framework), Version Control, UI/UX Research, Usability Testing, Responsive Web Design, Data Structures, Unix Commands, HTML and CSS, Git (Version Control System), Persona (User Experience), GitHub, Interaction Design, User Experience Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Bootstrap (Front-End Framework), React.js, Mobile Development, Front-End Web Development, Algorithms, Web Development Tools

      Build toward a degree

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      22K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of California, Davis

      Research Proposal: Initiating Research

      Skills you'll gain: Market Research, Proposal Writing, Research Methodologies, Market Analysis, Business Research, Data Collection, Quantitative Research, Business Writing, Sampling (Statistics), Survey Creation, Qualitative Research, Request for Proposal, Client Services, Professional Networking

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      921 reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Michigan

      User Experience Research and Design

      Skills you'll gain: UI/UX Research, Surveys, Qualitative Research, Usability Testing, User Experience Design, User Experience, User Research, User Story, Prototyping, Wireframing, User Centered Design, Survey Creation, Sampling (Statistics), Design Research, Interaction Design, Ideation, A/B Testing, Conceptual Design, User Interface (UI), Test Case

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      2.2K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • D

      Duke University

      Electric Industry Operations and Markets

      Skills you'll gain: Electrical Power, Electric Power Systems, Energy and Utilities, Basic Electrical Systems, Market Dynamics, Operating Cost, Plant Operations and Management, Operational Efficiency, Environmental Regulations, Regulatory Compliance, Dispatching

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.4K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      S

      Salesforce

      Salesforce Sales Operations

      Skills you'll gain: Sales Pipelines, Sales Process, Sales Operations, Customer Success Management, Order Management, Sales Management, Salesforce, Dashboard, Sales, Sales Development, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software, Lead Generation, Request For Quotation (RFQ), Sales Support, Sales Enablement, Customer Relationship Management, Product Knowledge, B2B Sales, Campaign Management, Data Visualization

      Build toward a degree

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.9K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Pennsylvania

      Business Analytics

      Skills you'll gain: People Analytics, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Human Capital, Business Analytics, Descriptive Analytics, Business Intelligence, Financial Data, Marketing Analytics, Analytics, Talent Management, Financial Analysis, Predictive Analytics, Human Resources Management and Planning, Peer Review, Business Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Customer Insights, Workforce Planning, Demand Planning

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      18K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      I

      IBM

      IBM DevOps and Software Engineering

      Skills you'll gain: CI/CD, Istio, Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), Continuous Integration, Software Development Life Cycle, Software Architecture, Linux Commands, Agile Software Development, Unit Testing, Cloud Computing Architecture, Application Deployment, Test Driven Development (TDD), Gherkin (Scripting Language), Jenkins, Kubernetes, Bash (Scripting Language), DevOps, Git (Version Control System), Jupyter, Grafana

      Build toward a degree

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      60K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      D

      DeepLearning.AI

      DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer

      Skills you'll gain: Tensorflow, Computer Vision, Image Analysis, Keras (Neural Network Library), Natural Language Processing, Time Series Analysis and Forecasting, Deep Learning, Artificial Neural Networks, Generative AI, Applied Machine Learning, Predictive Modeling, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Text Mining, Forecasting, Data Processing, Supervised Learning

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      25K reviews

      Intermediate · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Michigan

      Survey Data Collection and Analytics

      Skills you'll gain: Sampling (Statistics), Sample Size Determination, Surveys, Survey Creation, Research Methodologies, Data Collection, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Software, Interviewing Skills, Data Integration, Data Ethics, Research Design, Stata, R Programming, Data Quality, Statistical Modeling, Qualitative Research, Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Programming, Data Cleansing

      4.4
      Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.4K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      Q

      Queen Mary University of London

      Research Methodologies

      Skills you'll gain: Qualitative Research, Research Methodologies, Surveys, Science and Research, Data Collection, Focus Group, Business Research, Market Research, Research Design, Sample Size Determination, Survey Creation, Interviewing Skills, Probability & Statistics

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      386 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    Operations Research learners also search

    Operations Management
    Operations Analytics
    Business
    Management
    Business Management
    Business Development
    Project Management
    Business Projects
    1…456…340

    In summary, here are 10 of our most popular operations research courses

    • IBM AI Product Manager: IBM
    • Operations Management: Organization and Analysis: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • Meta Front-End Developer: Meta
    • Research Proposal: Initiating Research: University of California, Davis
    • User Experience Research and Design: University of Michigan
    • Electric Industry Operations and Markets: Duke University
    • Salesforce Sales Operations: Salesforce
    • Business Analytics: University of Pennsylvania
    • IBM DevOps and Software Engineering: IBM
    • DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer: DeepLearning.AI

    Skills you can learn in Business Strategy

    Modeling (25)
    Market (economics) (21)
    Plan (19)
    Planning (16)
    Strategic Management (16)
    Business Model (13)
    Operations Management (13)
    Analytics (12)
    Evaluation (12)
    Project Management (11)
    Supply Chain (10)
    Decision-making (9)

    Frequently Asked Questions about Operations Research

    Operations research is the use of statistical analysis and mathematical optimization techniques to help organizations solve problems and improve decision-making. The ability to harness vast amounts of data on day-to-day operations has created opportunities to rigorously optimize processes for cost, quality control, inventory management, and other goals, making operations research an important part of many businesses.

    The tools of operations research are similar to those of other fields relying heavily on quantitative analysis and statistics. Operational data is input into programs such as Microsoft Excel and Solver, R, and Python, where mathematical optimization techniques such as linear programming (LP) are applied to find the best solution for business problems. Monte Carlo simulations and other probabilistic analyses may also be used to discover areas of sensitivity and risk.

    These data-driven insights are typically applied according to process management and process improvement frameworks such as Six Sigma and Lean, which strive to reduce variation and eliminate waste in operations.‎

    Operations research is a core competency of careers in operations management, supply chain management, and logistics. This skill is particularly highly valued by businesses in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and other industries where companies must compete to deliver goods and services with complex supply chains in cost-sensitive markets.

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, operations research analysts earned a median annual salary of $84,810 in 2019. These jobs are also expected to grow much faster than jobs in the rest of the economy, due to the explosive growth in the availability of operations data along with the increasing importance of adopting these data-driven approaches to remain competitive in many industries. Operations research analysts typically have at least a bachelor’s degree in technical and quantitative fields such as engineering, computer science, analytics, or mathematics, as few schools offer degrees in operations research specifically.‎

    Certainly. Coursera offers courses and Specializations on operations research and related topics such as supply chain and operations management, operational analytics, and statistical research. Offered by excellent schools such as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Melbourne, and Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, these courses give you the opportunity to learn remotely on a flexible schedule and a lower tuition than on-campus students. Whether you’re a student or mid-career professional looking to add new skills to your repertoire, Coursera gives you the opportunity to optimize your operations research education to fit your specific needs.‎

    The skills and experience that you might need to already have before starting to learn operations research may include knowledge of mathematical and engineering methods, understanding of the fundamentals of business, and some background in linear programming, a math technique to solve systems of linear constraints. All of these can help you fully grasp the basics of operations research. Furthermore, having a background that includes computer algorithms and optimization techniques can help you to better analyze optimization problems in computer science, civil engineering, economics, and management. This multifaceted field is also linked with machine learning, as some operations researchers are sampling machine learning methods to test various metrics in a particular optimization process.‎

    The kind of people who are best suited for operations research work are often quantitative thinkers who are detailed and analytical. These people use mathematics formulas to help companies study labor needs, cost scenarios, product distribution, and other factors. In doing this work, they need to be curious, methodical, rational, and logical. Because operations researchers understand how algorithms, math, and statistics may impact workflows, budgets, employee staffing, and profitability, they also tend to be the kind of people who are investigative in nature, using their intellect and curiosity in the work.‎

    When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Operations Research, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎

    This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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