Forecasting Analysis

This type of analysis continues the specified time series by the selected forecasting method using information on its frequency.

NOTE. Forecasting analysis type is available for all tools of Foresight Analytics Platform, except for the time series analysis tool.

NOTE. For method calculation, selected data must contain at least one attribute and two observations, excluding titles. If data source is:
- Regular report. Titles are the first row or column in the selected range.
- Express report, dashboard, data table. Titles are row or column headers.
The source of titles (taken from rows or columns) depends on the Time Series radio button.

All forecast methods operate on numeric values. Available methods:

Grey Forecast. It is used to forecast behavior of non-linear time series. This method belongs to non-statistical forecast methods and is especially effective when the number of observations is limited.
Extrapolate. It enables the exclusion of the seasonal component from the time series and creating of a theoretical time series based on the change pattern expressed in mathematical terms.
Exponential Smoothing. It is one of the most popular methods used to smooth and forecast a wide range of time series. This method is based on calculating exponential means.

Select time series position in the Time Series group:

In Rows. Select this radio button if the time series are located in rows.
In Columns. Select the radio button for time series to be located in columns.

Select the checkboxes of the columns that contain time series that require forecasting:

To select all columns, click the Select All button.
To deselect all columns, click the Deselect All button.

NOTE. Selected columns must contain only numeric values.

In the Settings area specify options of forecasting for time series values:

- The Number of Forecast Periods. Determine the number of periods for value forecast.

Frequency. Specify the calendar frequency of the forecasted time series. The parameter is not available if Grey forecast is chosen for forecasting.
Horizontal Axis Labels. Specify the column, which values are used as horizontal axis labels in the chart with the forecast results.

The analysis results can be saved to a file, printed or inserted on the regular report sheet. For details see the Working with Analysis Results section.

If during the analysis warnings occurred, the Warnings additional tab is displayed.