Integrating expert systems and operations research: A conceptual framework

Expert System technologies can provide significant benefits if integrated with operations research (OR) applications, either by using free-standing systems or by integrating them into existing OR tools. This paper first distinguishes between physical and functional integration, and then focuses on aspects of the latter. Process and technique-oriented functional integration are defined, and several conceptual issues reviewed. These include the need for and resources necessary for such integration, difficulties associated with achieving successful integrated ES-OR applications, and the integration's impact on operations researchers and their organizations.