Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
Posted to microsoft.public.excel.misc
|
|||
|
|||
Trustworthy Forecastring Approach
Can anyone personally recommend a good approach at forecasting in Excel
(either using inherent features or a third-party application). Thanks. |
#2
Posted to microsoft.public.excel.misc
|
|||
|
|||
Trustworthy Forecastring Approach
On Jun 25, 3:58 pm, GDCross wrote:
Can anyone personally recommend a good approach at forecasting in Excel (either using inherent features or a third-party application). Thanks. The phrase "trustworthy forecasting" is an oxymoron, IMHO -- unless you believe the results of tarot readings, crystal balls and astrology. Forecasting is as much an art as it is a "science" (if statistical extrapolation can be called a science). Whether or not there are "good" approaches is debatable; but there are certainly __bad__ approaches. The worst approach is to use the Excel forecasting functions (e.g. FORECAST) blindly. IMHO, choosing a "good" approach to forecasting first requires an understanding of the nature of what you are trying to forecast. For example, forecasting seasonal sales is very different from forecasting the equity prices. But if you "must" forecast without an understanding of the nature of you are trying to forecast, with Excel I would start by using Chart Wizard and Trendline to look at the numbers and some possible regression approaches. (Caveat: Some people are critical of the Excel regression algorithms.) Then you might be able to choose an appropriate Excel forecasting function to use and the appropriate (sub)data to use for your extrapolation. |
#3
Posted to microsoft.public.excel.misc
|
|||
|
|||
Trustworthy Forecastring Approach
"joeu2004" wrote in message ups.com... On Jun 25, 3:58 pm, GDCross wrote: Can anyone personally recommend a good approach at forecasting in Excel (either using inherent features or a third-party application). Thanks. The phrase "trustworthy forecasting" is an oxymoron, IMHO -- unless you believe the results of tarot readings, crystal balls and astrology. .... and meteorology! - Jon ------- Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP Tutorials and Custom Solutions Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com _______ |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
best approach for a template spreadsheet to be used by others | Excel Discussion (Misc queries) | |||
Approach to Excel | Excel Discussion (Misc queries) | |||
Best Approach to Worksheet Synchronization | Excel Discussion (Misc queries) | |||
What is the right approach? | Excel Worksheet Functions | |||
How to approach this? | Excel Discussion (Misc queries) |