Operational Systems

Operational systems are geared toward rationalization of mass data processing, thereby endeavoring particularly to reduce costs and free employees from routine tasks, while at the same time speeding up processes and reducing turnaround time. Beyond the task of pure administration, disposition systems are intended to assist human decision-makers, or to make human decisions unnecessary by having the system itself make decisions automatically. Here we can differentiate between two objectives:

1. Automatic decisions should be better than decisions made by a human being; the goal is optimization.

2. We are satisfied if the information system finds solutions that are equal to those provided by human beings. In this case, the goal is rationalization of the decision-making process. The user is relieved of programmable routine tasks, and, moreover, automatic processes do not have to be interrupted for human intervention.

With operational systems, it is often relatively easy to demonstrate the superiority of the information system solely on the basis of the large number of transaction figures processed. With disposition systems, on the other hand, you have to repeatedly reassess which is better – human or automatic disposition.