Forecast

The Forecast function uses data recorded for certain time periods to calculate and display the expected value of data for an unknown time period. This is most commonly used to predict future metric values based on historical data. For example, based on revenue data for three years, you want to predict what your Revenue will be for the coming year.

This function uses a linear equation to predict future values. Therefore, it is best suited to predict values that increase or decrease in a linear trend. For example, if your profits are increasing by $10,000 each year, this is a scenario that is well suited for a prediction based on a linear equation.

For a function that predicts values in a similar way for data that is increasing or decreasing exponentially, see Growth.

Syntax

Forecast <FactID>(FutureTime, KnownData1,...,KnownDataN, KnownTimeIntervals1,...,KnownTimeIntervalN)

Where:

FutureTime is the point in time for which to predict the data. This is commonly defined as an integer. For example, to predict values for the year 2009, you would enter the value 2009 for FutureTime (this assumes your year data is defined with IDs that match the year).

KnownData1,...,KnownDataN are separate scalar values that provide the data to use to predict a future value for. While you can use Forecast to enter these values manually, it is more common to use ForecastV which can use a metric to enter a list of values, as described in ForecastV (forecast, vector input).

KnownTimeIntervals1,...,KnownTimeIntervalN are separate scalar values that provide the time intervals for which data is known. While you can use Forecast to enter these values manually, it is more common to use ForecastV which can use an attribute to enter a list of time intervals, as described in ForecastV (forecast, vector input).

FactID is a parameter that forces a calculation to take place on a fact table that contains the selected fact.

Example

As described in the syntax requirements, you can use Forecast to enter values and time intervals manually. However, it is more common to use ForecastV to use metrics and attributes to enter this information, as described in ForecastV (forecast, vector input).