Calculating Trends and Predicting Values With Forecast

In this section:

You can calculate trends in numeric data and predict values beyond the range of those stored in the data source by using the Forecast feature.

The calculations you can make to identify trends and forecast values are:

When predicting values in addition to calculating trends, Forecast continues the same calculations beyond the data points by using the generated trend values as new data points. For the linear regression technique, the calculated regression equation is used to derive trend and predicted values.

Forecast performs the calculations based on the data provided, but decisions about their use and reliability are the responsibility of the user. Therefore, Forecast predictions are not always reliable, and many factors determine how accurate a prediction will be.


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Forecast Processing

Reference:

You invoke Forecast processing by including Forecast in a Recap expression. In this command, you specify the parameters needed for generating estimated values, including the field to use in the calculations, the type of calculation to use, and the number of predictions to generate. The Recap field that contains the result of Forecast can be a new field (non-recursive) or the same field used in the Forecast calculations (recursive):

Forecast operates on the last Across field in the request. If the request does not contain an Across field, it operates on the last By field. The Forecast calculations start over when the highest-level sort field changes its value. In a request with multiple display commands, Forecast operates on the last Across field (or if there are no Across fields, the last By field) of the last display command. When using an Across field with Forecast, the field must be a summary field.

Note: Although you pass parameters to Forecast using an argument list in parentheses, Forecast is not a function. It can coexist with a function of the same name, as long as the function is not specified in a Recap expression.



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Reference: Usage Notes for Forecast


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Reference: Forecast Limits

The following are not supported with Forecast (within a Recap expression):


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Using a Simple Moving Average

How to:

Reference:

A simple moving average is a series of arithmetic means calculated with a specified number of values from a field. Each new mean in the series is calculated by dropping the first value used in the prior calculation, and adding the next data value to the calculation.

Simple moving averages are sometimes used to analyze trends in stock prices over time. In this scenario, the average is calculated using a specified number of periods of stock prices. A disadvantage to this indicator is that because it drops the oldest values from the calculation as it moves on, it loses its memory over time. Also, mean values are distorted by extreme highs and lows, since this method gives equal weight to each point.

Predicted values beyond the range of the data values are calculated using a moving average that treats the calculated trend values as new data points.

The first complete moving average occurs at the nth data point because the calculation requires n values. This is called the lag. The moving average values for the lag rows are calculated as follows: the first value in the moving average column is equal to the first data value, the second value in the moving average column is the average of the first two data values, and so on until the nth row, at which point there are enough values to calculate the moving average with the number of values specified.



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Procedure: How to Calculate a Simple Moving Average
  1. With the By or Across field you want to use for your calculations, click Forecast.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  2. If you want to change the name of the output field that displays the Forecasted values, edit the default name that exists in the Field Name field.
  3. Click Moving Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  4. Select an input measure field from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.

    If you select the same field as the By or Across field, this field will not appear in the output even if it is included in a display command.

  5. Select the increment number to count each instance of the By or Across field from the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  6. Select the number of predictions to be calculated for the Forecast field from the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  7. Select the number of values to average from the Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average menu.
  8. Optionally, change the default field format by clicking the Change Format button and selecting a different format from the Format dialog box.
  9. Click OK.


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Reference: Forecast Dialog Box - Moving Average

The Forecast dialog box is shown in the following image.

forecast

The Forecast dialog box contains the following fields or options.

Field Setup

Field Name
Is the Forecast field name.
Current Format
Displays the format of the Forecast.
Change Format
Opens the Format dialog box.
Forecast Function Setup
Step 1: Choose a Method
Is the Forecast method to use to predict values. The options are:

Double Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to either increase or decrease over time without repeating.

Exponential Average. Calculates a weighted average between the previously calculated value of the average and the next data point.

Linear Regression. Derives the coefficients of a straight line that best fits the data points and uses this linear equation to estimate values.

Moving Average. Calculates a series of arithmetic means using a specified number of values from a field.

Multivariate Regression. Predicts two or more dependent variables using one independent variable.

Triple Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to repeat itself in intervals over time.

Step 2: Choose a Measure
Is the field to be used to calculate the Forecast field.
Step 3: Choose The Interval
Is the increment by which to count instances of the By or Across field.
Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions
Is the number of predictions to be calculated.
Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average
Is the number of values to use to calculate the average used to predict values.
Current Forecast
Displays the code created by the Forecast dialog box.


Example: Calculating a Simple Moving Average

Create a new procedure, open with Report Painter, and open the centord.mas file.

  1. Select Report at the top of the Report Painter window, then select Define from the drop-down list.

    The Define dialog box opens.

  2. Enter PERIOD in the Field input area, type I2 (Integer format) in the Format input area, then double-click MONTH in the Fields List to add it to the area below PERIOD, then click OK.
  3. Add the PERIOD, REGION, QUANTITY, and LINE_COGS fields to the report.
  4. Select the PERIOD field and click the By button.
  5. Select the QUANTITY field and click the Sum button.
  6. Click the Where button from the Where/If button.

    The Expression Builder opens.

  7. Select REGION from the Data section.
  8. Enter REGION EQ 'WEST' Advanced section, and click OK.
  9. Click the Forecast button.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  10. In the Field Name field, enter MOVING_AVE.
  11. Select Moving Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  12. Select LINE_COGS from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.
  13. Specify 1 in the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  14. Specify 3 in the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  15. Specify 3 in the Step 5: Choose Number of Values to Average menu.
  16. Click OK.
  17. Run the report.

The output is shown in the following image.

output

In the report, the number of generated values to use for the moving average is 3, and there are no REGION, QUANTITY, or LINE_COGS values for the generated PERIOD and MOVING_AVE fields.

Each MOVING_AVE field is computed by adding the three previous LINE_COGS values together and dividing the total by three. When moving into the future, where a LINE_COGS value is not available, the value of the last calculated MOVING_AVE is substituted for the missing LINE_COGS value. The calculations of the generated moving averages are explained here:


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Using Single Exponential Smoothing

How to:

Reference:

The single exponential smoothing method calculates an average that allows you to choose weights to apply to newer and older values.

The following formula determines the weight given to the newest value.

k = 2/(1+n)

where:

k
Is the newest value.
n
Is an integer greater than one. Increasing n increases the weight assigned to the earlier observations (or data instances), as compared to the later ones.

The next calculation of the exponential moving average (EMA) value is derived by the following formula:

EMA = (EMA * (1-k)) + (datavalue * k)

This means that the newest value from the data source is multiplied by the factor k and the current moving average is multiplied by the factor (1-k). These quantities are then summed to generate the new EMA.

Note: When the data values are exhausted, the last data value in the sort group is used as the next data value.



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Procedure: How to Calculate a Single Exponential Smoothing Average
  1. With the By or Across field you want to use for your calculations, click Forecast.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  2. If you want to change the name of the output field that displays the Forecasted values, edit the default name that exists in the Field Name field.
  3. Select Exponential Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  4. Select an input field from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.

    If you select the same field as the By or Across field, this field will not appear even if it is included in a display command.

  5. Select the increment to count each instance of the By or Across field from the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  6. Select the number of predictions to be calculated for the Forecast field from the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  7. Select the number of values to average from the Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average menu.
  8. Optionally, change the default field format by clicking the Change Format button and selecting a different format from the Format dialog box.
  9. Click OK.


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Reference: Forecast Dialog Box - Exponential Average

The Forecast dialog box is shown in the following image.

Forecast

The Forecast dialog box contains the following fields or options.

Field Setup
Field Name
Is the Forecast field name.
Current Format
Displays the Forecast format.
Change Format
Opens the Format dialog box.
Forecast Functions Setup
Step 1: Choose a Method
Is the Forecast method to use to predict values. The options are:

Double Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to either increase or decrease over time without repeating.

Exponential Average. Calculates a weighted average between the previously calculated value of the average and the next data point.

Linear Regression. Derives the coefficients of a straight line that best fits the data points and uses this linear equation to estimate values.

Moving Average. Calculates a series of arithmetic means using a specified number of values from a field.

Multivariate Regression. Predicts two or more dependent variables using one independent variable.

Triple Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to repeat itself in intervals over time.

Step 2: Choose a Measure
Is the field to be used to calculate the Forecast field.
Step 3: Choose The Interval
Is the increment by which to count instances of the By or Across field.
Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions
Is the number of predictions to be calculated.
Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average
Is the number of values to use to calculate the average that is used to predict values.
Current Forecast
Displays the code created by the Forecast dialog box.


Example: Calculating a Single Exponential Smoothing Average

Create a new procedure, open with Report Painter, and open the centord.mas file.

  1. Click Report at the top of the Report Painter window, then click Define from the drop-down list.

    The Define dialog box opens.

  2. Enter PERIOD in the Field input area, type I2 (Integer format) in the Format input area, then double-click MONTH in the Fields List to add it to the area below PERIOD, then click OK.
  3. Add the PERIOD, REGION, QUANTITY, and LINE_COGS fields to the report.
  4. Select the PERIOD field and click the By button.
  5. Select the QUANTITY field and click the Sum button.
  6. Click the Where button from the Where/If drop-down menu.

    The Expression Builder opens.

  7. Select REGION from the Data section.
  8. Enter REGION EQ 'WEST' in the Advanced section, and click OK.
  9. Click the Forecast button.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  10. In the Field Name field, enter EXP_AVE.
  11. Click Exponential Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  12. Select LINE_COGS from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.
  13. Specify 1 in the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  14. Specify 3 in the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  15. Specify 3 in the Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average menu.
  16. Click OK.
  17. Run the report.

When the report is run, the forecasted single exponential values will appear in the EXP_AVE column.

The output is shown in the following image.

output

In the report, the number of values used for each single exponential average is 3, and there are no REGION, QUANTITY, or LINE_COGS values for the generated PERIOD and EXP_AVE fields.


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Using Double Exponential Smoothing

How to:

Reference:

Double exponential smoothing produces an exponential moving average that takes into account the tendency of data to either increase or decrease over time without repeating. This is accomplished by using two equations with two constants.

These two equations are solved to derive the smoothed average. The first smoothed average is set to the first data value. The first trend component is set to zero. For choosing the two constants, the best results are usually obtained by minimizing the mean-squared error (MSE) between the data values and the calculated averages. You may need to use nonlinear optimization techniques to find the optimal constants.

The equation used for forecasting beyond the data points with double exponential smoothing is

forecast(t+m) = DOUBLEXP(t) + m * b(t)

where:

m
Is the number of time periods ahead for the forecast.


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Procedure: How to Calculate a Double Exponential Smoothing Average
  1. With the By or Across field you want to use for your calculations, click Forecast.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  2. If you want to change the name of the output field that displays the Forecasted values, edit the default name that exists in the Field Name field.
  3. Select Double Exponential Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  4. Select an input field from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.

    If you select the same field as the By or Across field, this field will not appear even if it is included in a display command.

  5. Select the increment to count each instance of the By or Across field from the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  6. Select the number of predictions to be calculated for the Forecast field from the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  7. Select the number of values to average from the Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average menu.
  8. Select the number to use to calculate the weights for each term in the trend from the Step 6: Choose The Number of Values For Each Trend menu.
  9. Optionally, change the default field format by clicking the Change Format button and selecting a different format from the Format dialog box.
  10. Click OK.


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Reference: Forecast Dialog Box - Double Exponential Average

Forecast

The Forecast dialog box contains the following fields or options:

Field Setup

Field Name
Is the Forecast field name.
Current Format
Displays the Forecast format.
Change Format
Opens the Format dialog box.

Forecast Functions Setup

Step 1: Choose a Method
Is the Forecast method to use to predict values. The options are:

Double Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to either increase or decrease over time without repeating.

Exponential Average. Calculates a weighted average between the previously calculated value of the average and the next data point.

Linear Regression. Derives the coefficients of a straight line that best fits the data points and uses this linear equation to estimate values.

Moving Average. Calculates a series of arithmetic means using a specified number of values from a field.

Multivariate Regression. Predicts two or more dependent variables using one independent variable.

Triple Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to repeat itself in intervals over time.

Step 2: Choose a Measure
Is the field to be used to calculate the Forecast field.
Step 3: Choose The Interval
Is the increment by which to count instances of the By or Across field.
Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions
Is the number of predictions to be calculated.
Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average
Is the number of values to use to calculate the average used to predict values.
Step 6: Choose The Number of Values For Each Trend
Is the number used to calculate the weights for each term in the trend.


Example: Calculating a Double Exponential Smoothing Average

Create a new procedure, open with Report Painter, and open the centord.mas file.

  1. Click Report at the top of the Report Painter window, then click Define from the drop-down list.

    The Define dialog box opens.

  2. Enter PERIOD in the Field input area, type I2 (Integer format) in the Format input area, then double-click MONTH in the Fields List to add it to the area below PERIOD, then click OK.
  3. Add the PERIOD, REGION, QUANTITY, and LINE_COGS fields to the report.
  4. Select the PERIOD field and click the By button.
  5. Select the QUANTITY field and click the Sum button.
  6. Click the Where button from the Where/If drop-down menu.

    The Expression Builder opens.

  7. Select REGION from the Data section.
  8. Enter REGION EQ 'WEST' in the Advanced section, and click OK.
  9. Click the Forecast button.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  10. In Field Name field, enter DBL_EXP_AVE.
  11. Click Double Exponential Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  12. Select LINE_COGS from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.
  13. Specify 1 in the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  14. Specify 3 in the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  15. Specify 3 in the Step 5: Choose Number Of Values to Average menu.
  16. Specify 2 in the Step 6: Choose The Number of Values For Each Trend menu.
  17. Click OK.
  18. Run the report.

When the report is run, the forecasted double exponential values will appear in the DBL_EXP_AVE column.

The output is shown in the following image.

output

In the report, the number of values used for each double exponential average is 3, and there are no REGION, QUANTITY, or LINE_COGS values for the generated PERIOD and DBL_EXP_AVE fields.


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Using Triple Exponential Smoothing

How to:

Reference:

Triple exponential smoothing produces an exponential moving average that takes into account the tendency of data to repeat itself in intervals over time. For example, sales data that is growing and in which 25% of sales always occur during December contains both trend and seasonality. Triple exponential smoothing takes both the trend and seasonality into account by using three equations with three constants.

For triple exponential smoothing you, need to know the number of data points in each time period (designated as L in the following equations). To account for the seasonality, a seasonal index is calculated. The data is divided by the prior season index and then used in calculating the smoothed average.

These equations are solved to derive the triple smoothed average. The first smoothed average is set to the first data value. Initial values for the seasonality factors are calculated based on the maximum number of full periods of data in the data source, while the initial trend is calculated based on two periods of data. These values are calculated with the following steps:

  1. The initial trend factor is calculated by the following formula:
    b(0) = (1/L) ((y(L+1)-y(1))/L + (y(L+2)-y(2))/L + ... + (y(2L) - 
    y(L))/L )
  2. The calculation of the initial seasonality factor is based on the average of the data values within each period, A(j) (1<=j<=N):
    A(j) = ( y((j-1)L+1) + y((j-1)L+2) + ... + y(jL) ) / L
  3. Then, the initial periodicity factor is given by the following formula, where N is the number of full periods available in the data, L is the number of points per period and n is a point within the period (1<= n <= L):
    I(n) = ( y(n)/A(1) + y(L+n)/A(2) + ... + y((N-1)L+n)/A(N) ) / N

The three constants must be chosen carefully. The best results are usually obtained by choosing the constants to minimize the mean-squared error (MSE) between the data values and the calculated averages. Varying the values of npoint1 and npoint2 affect the results, and some values may produce a better approximation. To search for a better approximation, you may want to find values that minimize the MSE.

The equation used to forecast beyond the last data point with triple exponential smoothing is:

forecast(t+m) = (SEASONAL(t) + m * b(t)) / I(t-L+MOD(m/L))

where:

m
Is the number of periods ahead for the forecast.


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Procedure: How to Calculate a Triple Exponential Smoothing Average
  1. With the By or Across field you want to use for your calculations, click Forecast.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  2. If you want to change the name of the output field that displays the Forecasted values, edit the default name that exists in the Field Name field.
  3. Click Triple Exponential Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  4. Select an input field from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.

    If you select the same field as the By or Across field, this field will not appear even if it is included in a display command.

  5. Select the increment to count each instance of the By or Across field from the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  6. Select the number of predictions to be calculated for the Forecast field from the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  7. Select the number of data points for a period from the Step 5: Choose The Number of Points Per Period menu.
  8. Select the number of values to average from the Step 6: Choose Number Of Values to Average menu.
  9. Select the number to use to calculate the weights for each term in the trend from the Step 7: Choose The Number of Values For Each Trend menu.
  10. Select the number to use to calculate the weights for each term in the trend from the Step 8: Choose The Number of Values For Seasonal Adjustment menu.
  11. Optionally, change the default field format by clicking the Change Format button and selecting a different format from the Format dialog box.
  12. Click OK.


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Reference: Forecast Dialog Box - Triple Exponential Average

The Forecast dialog box is shown in the following image.

Forecast

The Forecast dialog box contains the following fields or options:

Field Setup

Field Name
Is the Forecast field name.
Current Format
Displays the Forecast format.
Change Format
Opens the Format dialog box.

Forecast Functions Setup

Step 1: Choose a Method
Is the Forecast method to use to predict values. The options are:

Double Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to either increase or decrease over time without repeating.

Exponential Average. Calculates a weighted average between the previously calculated value of the average and the next data point.

Linear Regression. Derives the coefficients of a straight line that best fits the data points and uses this linear equation to estimate values.

Moving Average. Calculates a series of arithmetic means using a specified number of values from a field.

Multivariate Regression. Predicts two or more dependent variables using one independent variable.

Triple Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to repeat itself in intervals over time.

Step 2: Choose a Measure
Is the field to be used to calculate the Forecast field.
Step 3: Choose The Interval
Is the increment by which to count instances of the By or Across field.
Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions
Is the number of predictions to be calculated.
Step 5: Choose The Number of Points Per Period
Is the number of data points in a period.
Step 6: Choose Number Of Values to Average
Is the number of values to use to calculate the average used to predict values.
Step 7: Choose The Number of Values For Each Trend
Is the number used to calculate the weights for each term in the trend. This value is available only for Double Exponential Average and Triple Exponential Average.
Step 8: Choose The Number of Values For Seasonal Adjustment
Is the number used to calculate the weights for each term in the seasonal adjustment.
Current Forecast
Displays the code created by the Forecast dialog box.


Example: Calculating a Triple Exponential Smoothing Average

Create a new procedure, open with Report Painter, and open the centord.mas file.

  1. Click Report at the top of the Report Painter window, then click Define from the drop-down list.

    The Define dialog box opens.

  2. Enter PERIOD in the Field input area, type I2 (Integer format) in the Format input area, then double-click MONTH in the Fields List to add it to the area below PERIOD, then click OK.
  3. Add the PERIOD, REGION, QUANTITY, and LINE_COGS fields to the report.
  4. Select the PERIOD field and click the By button.
  5. Select the QUANTITY field and click the Sum button.
  6. Click the Where button from the Where/If drop-down menu.

    The Expression Builder opens.

  7. Select REGION from the Data section.
  8. Enter REGION EQ 'WEST' in the Advanced section, and click OK.
  9. Click the Forecast button.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  10. In the Field Name field, enter TRPL_EXP_AVE.
  11. Click Triple Exponential Average from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  12. Select LINE_COGS from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.
  13. Specify 1 in the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  14. Specify 3 in the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  15. Specify 3 in the Step 5: Choose The Number of Points Per Period menu.
  16. Specify 3 in the Step 6: Choose Number Of Values to Average menu.
  17. Specify 3 in the Step 7: Choose The Number of Values for Each Trend menu.
  18. Specify 3 in the Step 8: Choose The Number of Values for Seasonal Adjustment menu.
  19. Click OK.
  20. Run the report.

When the report is run, the forecasted triple exponential values will appear in the TRPL_EXP_AVE column.

The output is shown in the following image.

output

In the report, the number of values used for each triple exponential average is 3, and there are no REGION, QUANTITY, or LINE_COGS values for the generated PERIOD and TRPL_EXP_AVE fields.


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Using a Linear Regression Equation

How to:

Reference:

The Linear Regression Equation estimates values by assuming that the dependent variable (the new calculated values) and the independent variable (the sort field values) are related by a function that represents a straight line:

y = mx + b

where:

y
Is the dependent variable.
x
Is the independent variable.
m
Is the slope of the line.
b
Is the y-intercept.

REGRESS uses a technique called Ordinary Least Squares to calculate values for m and b that minimize the sum of the squared differences between the data and the resulting line.

The following formulas show how m and b are calculated.

formulas

formulas

where:

n
Is the number of data points.
y
Is the data values (dependent variables).
x
Is the sort field values (independent variables).

Trend values, as well as predicted values, are calculated using the regression line equation.



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Procedure: How to Calculate a Linear Regression Value
  1. With the By or Across field you want to use for your calculations, click Forecast.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  2. If you want to change the name of the output field that displays the Forecasted values, edit the default name that exists in the Field Name field.
  3. Click Linear Regression from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  4. Select an input field from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.

    If you select the same field as the By or Across field, this field will not appear even if it is included in a display command.

  5. Select the increment number to count each instance of the By or Across field from the Step 3: Choose The Interval menu.
  6. Select the number of predictions to be calculated for the Forecast field from the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  7. Optionally, change the default field format by clicking the Change Format button and selecting a different format from the Format dialog box.
  8. Click OK.


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Reference: Forecast Dialog Box - Linear Regression

The Forecast dialog box is shown in the following image.

Forecast

The Forecast dialog box contains the following fields or options:

Field Setup

Field Name
Is the Forecast field name.
Current Format
Displays the Forecast format.
Change Format
Opens the Format dialog box.

Forecast Functions Setup

Step 1: Choose a Method
Is the Forecast method to use to predict values. The options are:

Double Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to either increase or decrease over time without repeating.

Exponential Average. Calculates a weighted average between the previously calculated value of the average and the next data point.

Linear Regression. Derives the coefficients of a straight line that best fits the data points and uses this linear equation to estimate values.

Moving Average. Calculates a series of arithmetic means using a specified number of values from a field.

Multivariate Regression. Predicts two or more dependent variables using one independent variable.

Triple Exponential Average. Accounts for the tendency of data to repeat itself in intervals over time.

Step 2: Choose a Measure
Is the field to be used to calculate the Forecast field.
Step 3: Choose The Interval
Is the increment by which to count instances of the By or Across field.
Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions
Is the number of predictions to be calculated.
Current Forecast
Displays the code created by the Forecast dialog box.


Example: Calculating a Linear Regression Value

Create a new procedure, open with Report Painter, and open the centord.mas file.

  1. Click Report at the top of the Report Painter window, then click Define from the drop-down list.

    The Define dialog box opens.

  2. Enter PERIOD in the Field input area, type I2 (Integer format) in the Format input area, then double-click MONTH in the Fields List to add it to the input area below PERIOD, then click OK.

    The Define dialog box closes and you return back to Report Painter.

  3. Add the PERIOD, REGION, QUANTITY, and LINE_COGS fields to the report.
  4. Select the PERIOD field and click the By button.
  5. Select the QUANTITY field and click the Sum button.
  6. Click the Where button from the Where/If drop-down menu.

    The Expression Builder opens.

  7. Select REGION from the Data section.
  8. Enter REGION EQ 'WEST' in the Advanced section, and click OK.
  9. Click the Forecast button.

    The Forecast dialog box opens.

  10. In the Field Name field, enter LINEAR_REG.
  11. Select Linear Regression from the Step 1: Choose a Method drop-down list.
  12. Select LINE_COGS from the Step 2: Choose a Measure drop-down list.
  13. Specify 1 in the Step 3: Choose The Interval Menu.
  14. Specify 3 in the Step 4: Choose Number of Predictions menu.
  15. Click OK.
  16. Run the report.

When the report is run, the forecasted linear regression values will appear in the LINEAR_REG column.

The output is shown in the following image.

output

In the report, the number of values used for each linear regression value is 3, and there are no REGION, QUANTITY, or LINE_COGS values for the generated PERIOD and LINEAR_REG fields.


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Forecast Reporting Techniques

You can use Forecast multiple times in one request. However, all Forecast requests must specify the same sort field, interval, and number of predictions. The only things that can change are the Recap field, method, field used to calculate the Forecast values, and number of points to average. If you change any of the other parameters, the new parameters are ignored.

If you want to move a Forecast column in the report output, use an empty Compute expression for the Forecast field as a placeholder. The data type (I, F, P, D) must be the same in the Compute expression and the Recap expression.

To make the report output easier to interpret, you can create a field that indicates whether the Forecast value in each row is a predicted value. To do this, define a virtual field whose value is a constant other than zero. Rows in the report output that represent actual records in the data source will appear with this constant. Rows that represent predicted values will display zero. You can also propagate this field to a HOLD file.



Example: Generating Multiple Forecast Columns in a Request

This example calculates moving averages and exponential averages for both the DOLLARS and BUDDOLLARS fields in the GGSALES data source. The sort field, interval, and number of predictions are the same for all of the calculations.

DEFINE FILE GGSALES
 SDATE/YYM = DATE;
 SYEAR/Y = SDATE;
 SMONTH/M = SDATE;
 PERIOD/I2 = SMONTH;
END
TABLE FILE GGSALES
  SUM DOLLARS AS 'DOLLARS' BUDDOLLARS AS 'BUDGET'
  BY CATEGORY NOPRINT BY PERIOD AS 'PER'
  WHERE SYEAR EQ 97 AND CATEGORY EQ 'Coffee'
  ON PERIOD RECAP DOLMOVAVE/D10.1= FORECAST(DOLLARS,1,0,'MOVAVE',3);
  ON PERIOD RECAP DOLEXPAVE/D10.1= FORECAST(DOLLARS,1,0,'EXPAVE',4);
  ON PERIOD RECAP BUDMOVAVE/D10.1 = FORECAST(BUDDOLLARS,1,0,'MOVAVE',3);
  ON PERIOD RECAP BUDEXPAVE/D10.1 = FORECAST(BUDDOLLARS,1,0,'EXPAVE',4);
END

The output is shown in the following image.

PER  DOLLARS   BUDGET    DOLMOVAVE    DOLEXPAVE    BUDMOVAVE    BUDEXPAVE  1   801123   801375    801,123.0    801,123.0    801,375.0    801,375.0
  2   682340   725117    741,731.5    753,609.8    763,246.0    770,871.8
  3   765078   810367    749,513.7    758,197.1    778,953.0    786,669.9
  4   691274   717688    712,897.3    731,427.8    751,057.3    759,077.1
  5   720444   739999    725,598.7    727,034.3    756,018.0    751,445.9
  6   742457   742586    718,058.3    733,203.4    733,424.3    747,901.9
  7   747253   773136    736,718.0    738,823.2    751,907.0    757,995.6
  8   655896   685170    715,202.0    705,652.3    733,630.7    728,865.3
  9   730317   753760    711,155.3    715,518.2    737,355.3    738,823.2
 10   724412   709397    703,541.7    719,075.7    716,109.0    727,052.7
 11   620264   630452    691,664.3    679,551.0    697,869.7    688,412.4
 12   762328   718837    702,334.7    712,661.8    686,228.7    700,582.3


Example: Moving the FORECAST Column

The following example places the DOLLARS field after the MOVAVE field by using an empty COMPUTE command as a placeholder for the MOVAVE field. Both the COMPUTE command and the RECAP command specify formats for MOVAVE (of the same data type), but the format of the RECAP command takes precedence.

DEFINE FILE GGSALES
 SDATE/YYM = DATE;
 SYEAR/Y = SDATE;
 SMONTH/M = SDATE;
 PERIOD/I2 = SMONTH;
END
TABLE FILE GGSALES
SUM   UNITS
COMPUTE MOVAVE/D10.2 = ;
DOLLARS
  BY CATEGORY BY PERIOD
  WHERE SYEAR EQ 97 AND CATEGORY EQ 'Coffee'
  ON PERIOD RECAP MOVAVE/D10.1= FORECAST(DOLLARS,1,3,'MOVAVE',3);
END

The output is shown in the following image.

Category     PERIOD  Unit
Sales        MOVAVE  Dollar
SalesCoffee            1       61666     801,123.0        801123
                  2       54870     741,731.5        682340
                  3       61608     749,513.7        765078
                  4       57050     712,897.3        691274
                  5       59229     725,598.7        720444
                  6       58466     718,058.3        742457
                  7       60771     736,718.0        747253
                  8       54633     715,202.0        655896
                  9       57829     711,155.3        730317
                 10       57012     703,541.7        724412
                 11       51110     691,664.3        620264
                 12       58981     702,334.7        762328
                 13           0     694,975.6             0
                 14           0     719,879.4             0
                 15           0     705,729.9             0


Example: Distinguishing Data Rows From Predicted Rows

In the following example, the DATA_ROW virtual field has the value 1 for each row in the data source. It has the value zero for the predicted rows. The PREDICT field is calculated as YES for predicted rows, and NO for rows containing data.

DEFINE FILE CAR
DATA_ROW/I1 = 1;
END
TABLE FILE CAR
  PRINT DATA_ROW
COMPUTE PREDICT/A3 = IF DATA_ROW EQ 1 THEN 'NO' ELSE 'YES' ;
MPG
BY DEALER_COST
WHERE MPG GE 20
  ON DEALER_COST RECAP FORMPG/D12.2=FORECAST(MPG,1000,3,'REGRESS');
  ON DEALER_COST RECAP MPG         =FORECAST(MPG,1000,3,'REGRESS');
END

The output is:

DEALER_COST  DATA_ROW  PREDICT             MPG          FORMPG 
      2,886         1  NO                27.00           25.65
      4,292         1  NO                25.00           23.91
      4,631         1  NO                21.00           23.49
      4,915         1  NO                21.00           23.14
      5,063         1  NO                23.00           22.95
      5,660         1  NO                21.00           22.21
                    1  NO                21.00           22.21
      5,800         1  NO                24.20           22.04
      6,000         1  NO                24.20           21.79
      7,000         0  YES               20.56           20.56
      8,000         0  YES               19.32           19.32
      9,000         0  YES               18.08           18.08

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