The Impact Of Science Operations On Science Return Of The Very Large Telescope

The operational implementation of observing programs influences the scientific return of an Observatory. More than 15 years of observations with the VLT/Paranal Observatory allow us to assess the impact of science operations and program implementation. Bibliometric parameters are used to derive program productivities and citation rates and their relation to scheduling realizations (such as service and visitor mode), program types and service mode rank classes.In this contribution we present a set of performance indicators comparing specific program execution parameters. Results of this analysis help us to identify strengths and weaknesses of the adopted operational model, as well as possible improvements for an integrated VLT and ELT operations scheme in the next decade.