Forecasting

Use forecasting in IBM® Planning Analytics Workspace to discover and model trend, seasonality, and time dependence in data.

You can forecast in Planning Analytics Workspace by using automated tools that model time-dependent data. Automated model selection and tuning makes forecasting easy to use, even if you are not familiar with time series modeling.

To begin forecasting, click an exploration view in a book, then click Forecast and click either Univariate or Multivariate, depending on which type of forecast you want to generate.

Forecasts and their confidence bounds (when applicable) are displayed in visualizations as a continuation of historic data. You can also view the statistical details for generated models if you want to see the technical background.

Specifying time series in forecasts often requires data manipulation. Planning Analytics Workspace supports a wide range of time series without the need for manipulation, ranging from standard date and time types, to nested periodic and cyclical time fields. When data is recognized as a time series, data preparation is automated. Appropriate trend and seasonal periods are detected.

You can view forecasts in line visualizations. Forecasts and confidence bounds are computed for each time series and displayed in the visualization as extensions of the current data. You can inspect each time series separately and tailor the forecast and results to your own data and requirements.

If you are familiar with forecasting models, you can view the selected model type, estimated model parameters, standard accuracy measures, and processing summary information when you preview a forecast.