Forecasting

Forecasting

What is Forecasting?.

Forecasting is a tool used for predicting future demand based on past demand information. 
Forecasting is a process of predicting a future event based on historical data.

Example: Predict a number in the following patterns:

(a) 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11
Ans: The next number is 13, because according to the pattern all the numbers are the odd numbers.

(b) 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14
Ans: The next number is 16, because according to the pattern all the numbers are the even numbers.

(c) 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29
Ans: The next number is 31, because according to the pattern all the numbers are the prime numbers.

(d) 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32
Ans: The next number is 64, because according to the pattern each number is the double of previous  numbers.

(e) 1, 3, 7, 15, 31, 63
Ans: The next number is 127, because according to the pattern each number is the double of previous  number and 1 is added to the ans i.e. 63+63=126, 126+1=127.

As we knew that by following the pattern we easily found out the next number, so the process is known as forecasting.