Observing trends

You use trends to track in what direction the forecasted data moves.

About this task

To observe the trend of the historical data:

Procedure

  1. Open the forecast for which you want to create a trend.
  2. Open a forecast in the Forecast editor.
  3. Run the forecast model that you want to test. The forecast results are displayed in the Results editor.
  4. Click the Create Trend Create Trend icon toolbar button. A trend graph and a trend table are displayed in the Results editor.
  5. Observe the three types of trends in the trend chart to determine if there is a significant trend to the data, and in what direction it moves.
    Local Trend
    The difference between the current value within a period and the value for the last period.
    Global Trend
    The difference between the current value within a period and the average of all values. The period, order, and magnitude of fluctuation between positive and negative values can be used to determine the significance of the linear trend.
    Linear Trend
    The linear regression value for the current period, as displayed in the trend graph.
  6. Optional: If you want to view the forecast hierarchical structure, open the Outline view by selecting Window > Show view > Outline from the main menu.