"What kind of operation are we running?"

• Productivity — output / input. The single most common operations metric. Know labor, multifactor, and total productivity.
• Order winners vs. order qualifiers — qualifiers get you on the shortlist; winners get you the sale. Cost, quality, speed, flexibility, dependability.
• The four process types — job shop (custom, low volume), batch (medium volume, some variety), assembly line (high volume, low variety), continuous flow (very high volume, no variety).
• The product-process matrix — the diagonal is efficient; off the diagonal usually means you're paying for capability you don't use or capacity you can't get.
• Make-to-stock, make-to-order, assemble-to-order — how far down the value chain you commit before a customer order arrives.
• Facility layouts — process, product, cellular, fixed-position. Each fits a different process type.
• Service-System Design Matrix — the service equivalent of the product-process matrix. Frontstage vs. backstage, customer contact, sales opportunity.
• Project management — PERT expected time, critical path, slack/float, EVM (CV, SV, CPI, SPI), crashing.

• Operations Cheat Handbook (full)Formulas and quick reference for the whole course. Zone 1 covers this topic.
• Course Map — how everything connectsThe big picture: what each Part teaches and how it ties to the simulation modules.
• Class Notes — Manufacturing vs. ServiceWhy service operations need their own framework, not just a copy of the manufacturing one.
• Manufacturing & Services Processes ComparedSide-by-side reference: which concepts transfer, which don't.
• Operations Q&A WorkbookOpen-ended questions across the whole course — great for retrieval practice.
• OSCM Student Study GuideA learner-facing summary of the foundational chapters.

Eight short case studies that anchor the concepts in companies you've heard of. Read at least two manufacturing and two service before you do the hands-on activity.

• Manufacturing case studiesTesla gigafactories, Boeing 737 MAX, Nike contract manufacturing, Toyota Production System.
• Service case studiesDelta Air Lines (the 2024 CrowdStrike crisis), Starbucks, Amazon, Mayo Clinic.

The project-management worksheet walks you through a small project from PERT estimates through the critical path, slack, and a crashing decision. The warehouse-shuffle activity is a layout exercise — rearrange a small warehouse to cut travel time.

• Project Management Worksheet (with key)PERT, critical path, slack, EVM, crashing — fully worked.
• Warehouse Shuffle — layout exerciseMove bins around to minimize total pick travel time.
• Break-Even Analysis (Excel)Companion to the productivity/strategy material — fixed vs. variable costs.
• Sports Economic Impact (Excel)A larger productivity-and-impact dataset for an open-ended activity.

Short browser games that build intuition for what an operation is and how the pieces fit together.

• Bean Counter CafeA first taste of operations decisions — staff, stock, queue.
• Coffee RushRush-hour flow — you'll feel a bottleneck before you've heard the word.
• Operations Integration ExplorerClick through how every operations function connects.
• Starbucks Supply ChainWalk the bean — farm to cup.
• Efficiency vs. EffectivenessWhen doing the wrong thing faster makes everything worse.
• Operations Job RolesMatch real OSCM job titles to what they actually do day-to-day.
• OSCM TimelineA scrub-bar history of operations — from craft to Toyota to AI.
• Order Winners vs. QualifiersWhich competitive dimension actually wins the sale?
• Supply Chain TycoonRun a small business across a few quarters — see how the metrics move.
• Triple Bottom LinePeople, planet, profit — how operations decisions hit all three.
• The Great DisruptionMake decisions while supply chains break around you.
• Risk RouletteWhich operations risk hurts the most?

Project management is hands-on by nature. These games make critical path, slack, and crashing concrete.

• Critical Path RacerFind the critical path before the timer runs out.
• Critical Path — Spring Break Project PlanA friendlier "plan the trip" framing of the same idea.
• Slack AttackFind the activities with float before time runs out.
• PROJECT CRASHERShorten the project — minimize the cost. Best concrete intro to crashing decisions.
• Dependency DetectiveInvestigate the relationships between activities.
• Gantt vs. NetworkMaster both project-visualization methods.
• The Deadline CrunchCalculate the probability of meeting a project deadline.
• Predecessor PuzzleIdentify what must happen before each task.
• Path Finder — Sprint EditionSpeed round — find the longest path fast.

• Make or BuyDecide whether to produce in-house or outsource.
• Operations TycoonManage operations decisions over four quarters.
• Process MatchMatch companies to the right process type.
• Flowchart BuilderMap real-world processes using standard symbols.
• Precedence PuzzleBuild task sequences based on dependencies.
• Factory Floor FrenzyOptimize facility layout for efficiency.
• Line Balance ChallengeBalance tasks across workstations.

• Contact ZonePlace services on the Service-System Design Matrix.
• Variability BusterManage the five types of customer-introduced variability.
• Poka-Yoke PatrolFail-safe a service with the Three Ts.
• Blueprint BuilderService-blueprint swimlane design.
• Service ScrambleThree contrasting service designs — sort the operations to the right one.
• Front vs. BackFrontstage or backstage? Classify the activity.

AI is a fast way to classify an unfamiliar operation. Paste the operation description into an AI assistant and ask:

1. "Which of the four manufacturing process types best fits this operation, and why?"
2. "Is this make-to-stock, make-to-order, or assemble-to-order? What's the evidence?"
3. "On the product-process matrix, is this operation on the diagonal? If not, what's the misfit?"

The trap: AI will confidently classify wrong if the operation has hybrid characteristics. Always check by asking it to list two pieces of evidence against its own answer.

See the Prompt Engineering for OSCM guide for more patterns.

Two of the end-of-course cases hinge on process choice and project planning:

• Panda Express — Where to build the next store · process choice + capacity
• Midnight Bakery — Scaling a small operation · process choice + lean foundations