Anderson

Sweeney

Williams

QUANTITATIVE METHODS FOR BUSINESS 8e

Slides Prepared by JOHN LOUCKS

2001 South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning South-

Slide 1

Chapter 6 Forecasting
     

 

Quantitative Approaches to Forecasting The Components of a Time Series Measures of Forecast Accuracy Using Smoothing Methods in Forecasting Using Trend Projection in Forecasting Using Trend and Seasonal Components in Forecasting Using Regression Analysis in Forecasting Qualitative Approaches to Forecasting

Slide 2

Quantitative Approaches to Forecasting



Quantitative methods are based on an analysis of historical data concerning one or more time series. A time series is a set of observations measured at successive points in time or over successive periods of time. If the historical data used are restricted to past values of the series that we are trying to forecast, the procedure is called a time series method. method. If the historical data used involve other time series that are believed to be related to the time series that we are trying to forecast, the procedure is called a causal method. method.

Slide 3

Time Series Methods



Three time series methods are: smoothing trend projection trend projection adjusted for seasonal influence

Slide 4

Components of a Time Series



The trend component accounts for the gradual shifting of the time series over a long period of time. Any regular pattern of sequences of values above and below the trend line is attributable to the cyclical component of the series. The seasonal component of the series accounts for regular patterns of variability within certain time periods, such as over a year. The irregular component of the series is caused by shortshort-term, unanticipated and non-recurring factors nonthat affect the values of the time series. One cannot attempt to predict its impact on the time series in advance.
Slide 5

Measures of Forecast Accuracy



Mean Squared Error The average of the squared forecast errors for the historical data is calculated. The forecasting method or parameter(s) which minimize this mean squared error is then selected. Mean Absolute Deviation The mean of the absolute values of all forecast errors is calculated, and the forecasting method or parameter(s) which minimize this measure is selected. The mean absolute deviation measure is less sensitive to individual large forecast errors than the mean squared error measure.

Slide 6

Smoothing Methods


In cases in which the time series is fairly stable and has no significant trend, seasonal, or cyclical effects, one can use smoothing methods to average out the irregular components of the time series. Four common smoothing methods are: Moving averages Centered moving averages Weighted moving averages Exponential smoothing

Slide 7

Smoothing Methods


Moving Average Method The moving average method consists of computing an average of the most recent n data values for the series and using this average for forecasting the value of the time series for the next period.

Slide 8

Example: Roberts Drugs

During the past ten weeks, sales of cases of Comfort brand headache medicine at Robert's Drugs have been as follows: Week Sales Week Sales 1 110 6 120 2 115 7 130 3 125 8 115 4 120 9 110 5 125 10 130 If Robert's uses a 3-period moving average to 3forecast sales, what is the forecast for Week 11?

Slide 9

Example: Roberts Drugs



Excel Spreadsheet Showing Input Data

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B Robert's Drugs Week (t ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Salest 110 115 125 120 125 120 130 115 110 130 C

Forect +1

Slide 10

Example: Roberts Drugs



Steps to Moving Average Using Excel Step 1: Select the Tools pull-down menu. pull Step 2: Select the Data Analysis option. Step 3: When the Data Analysis Tools dialog appears, choose Moving Average. Moving Average. Step 4: When the Moving Average dialog box appears: Enter B4:B13 in the Input Range box. Enter 3 in the Interval box. Enter C4 in the Output Range box. Select OK. OK.

Slide 11

Example: Roberts Drugs



Spreadsheet Showing Results Using n = 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B Robert's Drugs Week (t ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Salest 110 115 125 120 125 120 130 115 110 130 C

Forect +1 #N/A #N/A 116.7 120.0 123.3 121.7 125.0 121.7 118.3 118.3
Slide 12

Smoothing Methods


Centered Moving Average Method The centered moving average method consists of computing an average of n periods' data and associating it with the midpoint of the periods. For example, the average for periods 5, 6, and 7 is associated with period 6. This methodology is useful in the process of computing season indexes.

Slide 13

Smoothing Methods


Weighted Moving Average Method In the weighted moving average method for computing the average of the most recent n periods, the more recent observations are typically given more weight than older observations. For convenience, the weights usually sum to 1.

Slide 14

Smoothing Methods


Exponential Smoothing Using exponential smoothing, the forecast for the smoothing, next period is equal to the forecast for the current period plus a proportion (E) of the forecast error (E in the current period. Using exponential smoothing, the forecast is calculated by: E[the actual value for the current period] + (1- E)[the forecasted value for the current period], (1where the smoothing constant, E , is a number between 0 and 1.

Slide 15

Trend Projection


If a time series exhibits a linear trend, the method of least squares may be used to determine a trend line (projection) for future forecasts. Least squares, also used in regression analysis, determines the unique trend line forecast which minimizes the mean square error between the trend line forecasts and the actual observed values for the time series. The independent variable is the time period and the dependent variable is the actual observed value in the time series.

Slide 16

Trend Projection


Using the method of least squares, the formula for the trend projection is: Tt = b0 + b1t. where: Tt = trend forecast for time period t b1 = slope of the trend line b0 = trend line projection for time 0 b1 = n7tYt - 7t 7Yt n7t 2 - (7t )2 where: Yt = observed value of the time series at time period t Y = average of the observed values for Yt t = average time period for the n observations
Slide 17

b0 = Y - b1t

Example: Roberts Drugs

During the past ten weeks, sales of cases of Comfort brand headache medicine at Robert's Drugs have been as follows: Week Sales Week Sales 1 110 6 120 2 115 7 130 3 125 8 115 4 120 9 110 5 125 10 130 If Robert's uses exponential smoothing to forecast sales, which value for the smoothing constant E, E = .1 or E = .8, gives better forecasts?

Slide 18

Example: Roberts Drugs



Exponential Smoothing To evaluate the two smoothing constants, determine how the forecasted values would compare with the actual historical values in each case. Let: Yt = actual sales in week t Ft = forecasted sales in week t F1 = Y1 = 110 For other weeks, Ft+1 = .1Yt + .9Ft .1Y .9F

Slide 19

Example: Roberts Drugs



Exponential Smoothing For E = .1, 1 - E = .9 F1 F2 = .1Y1 + .9F1 = .1(110) + .9(110) .1Y .9F F3 = .1Y2 + .9F2 = .1(115) + .9(110) .1Y .9F F4 = .1Y3 + .9F3 = .1(125) + .9(110.5) .1Y .9F F5 = .1Y4 + .9F4 = .1(120) + .9(111.95) .1Y .9F F6 = .1Y5 + .9F5 = .1(125) + .9(112.76) .1Y .9F F7 = .1Y6 + .9F6 = .1(120) + .9(113.98) .1Y .9F F8 = .1Y7 + .9F7 = .1(130) + .9(114.58) .1Y .9F F9 = .1Y8 + .9F8 = .1(115) + .9(116.12) .1Y .9F F10= .1Y9 + .9F9 = .1(110) + .9(116.01) .1Y .9F

= 110 = 110 = 110.5 = 111.95 = 112.76 = 113.98 = 114.58 = 116.12 = 116.01 = 115.41
Slide 20

Example: Roberts Drugs



Exponential Smoothing For E = .8, 1 - E = .2 F1 = 110 F2 = .8(110) + .2(110) = 110 F3 = .8(115) + .2(110) = 114 F4 = .8(125) + .2(114) = 122.80 F5 = .8(120) + .2(122.80) = 120.56 F6 = .8(125) + .2(120.56) = 124.11 F7 = .8(120) + .2(124.11) = 120.82 F8 = .8(130) + .2(120.82) = 128.16 F9 = .8(115) + .2(128.16) = 117.63 F10= .8(110) + .2(117.63) = 111.53
Slide 21

Example: Roberts Drugs



Mean Squared Error In order to determine which smoothing constant gives the better performance, calculate, for each, the mean squared error for the nine weeks of forecasts, weeks 2 through 10 by: [(Y2-F2)2 + (Y3-F3)2 + (Y4-F4)2 + . . . + (Y10-F10)2]/9 [(Y (Y (Y (Y

Slide 22

Example: Roberts Drugs

Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Yt 110 115 125 120 125 120 130 115 110 130 MSE E = .1 Ft (Yt - Ft)2 110.00 110.50 111.95 112.76 113.98 114.58 116.12 116.01 115.41 Sum Sum/9 25.00 210.25 64.80 149.94 36.25 237.73 1.26 36.12 212.87 974.22 108.25 E = .8 Ft (Yt - Ft)2 110.00 114.00 122.80 120.56 124.11 120.82 128.16 117.63 111.53 Sum Sum/9 25.00 121.00 7.84 19.71 16.91 84.23 173.30 58.26 341.27 847.52 94.17
Slide 23

Example: Roberts Drugs



Excel Spreadsheet Showing Input Data

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B Robert's Drugs Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sales 110 115 125 120 125 120 130 115 110 130
Slide 24

Example: Roberts Drugs



Steps to Exponential Smoothing Using Excel Step 1: Select the Tools pull-down menu. pull Step 2: Select the Data Analysis option. Step 3: When the Data Analysis Tools dialog appears, choose Exponential Smoothing. Smoothing. Step 4: When the Exponential Smoothing dialog box appears: Enter B4:B13 in the Input Range box. Enter 0.9 (for E = 0.1) in Damping Factor box. Enter C4 in the Output Range box. Select OK. OK.

Slide 25

Example: Roberts Drugs



Spreadsheet Showing Results Using E = 0.1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B Robert's Drugs Week (t ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sales t 110 115 125 120 125 120 130 115 110 130 C E = 0.1 Forec t +1 #N/A 110.0 110.5 112.0 112.8 114.0 114.6 116.1 116.0 115.4
Slide 26

Example: Roberts Drugs



Repeating the Process for a = 0.8 Step 4: When the Exponential Smoothing dialog box appears: Enter B4:B13 in the Input Range box. Enter 0.2 (for E = 0.8) in Damping Factor box. Enter D4 in the Output Range box. Select OK. OK.

Slide 27

Example: Roberts Drugs



Spreadsheet Showing Results Using E = 0.1 and E = 0.8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B Robert's Drugs Week (t ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sales t 110 115 125 120 125 120 130 115 110 130 C E = 0.1 Forec t +1 #N/A 110.0 110.5 112.0 112.8 114.0 114.6 116.1 116.0 115.4 D E = 0.8 Forec t +1 #N/A 110.0 114.0 122.8 120.6 124.1 120.8 128.2 117.6 111.5
Slide 28

Example: Augers Plumbing Service

The number of plumbing repair jobs performed by Auger's Plumbing Service in each of the last nine months are listed below. Month March April May Jobs 353 387 342 Month June July August Jobs 374 396 409 Month Jobs September 399 October 412 November 408

Forecast the number of repair jobs Auger's will perform in December using the least squares method.

Slide 29

Example: Augers Plumbing Service



Trend Projection (month) t (Mar.) 1 (Apr.) 2 (May) 3 (June) 4 (July) 5 (Aug.) 6 (Sep.) 7 (Oct.) 8 (Nov.) 9 Sum 45

Yt tYt t2 353 353 1 387 774 4 342 1026 9 374 1496 16 396 1980 25 409 2454 36 399 2793 49 412 3296 64 408 3672 81 3480 17844 285
Slide 30

Example: Augers Plumbing Service



Trend Projection (continued) t = 45/9 = 5 n7tYt - 7t 7Yt n7t 2 - (7t)2 Y = 3480/9 = 386.667 (9)(17844) - (45)(3480) = (9)(285) - (45)2 = 7.4

b1 =

b0 = Y - b1t = 386.667 - 7.4(5) = 349.667 T10 = 349.667 + (7.4)(10) = 423.667

Slide 31

Example: Augers Plumbing Service



Excel Spreadsheet Showing Input Data

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B C Auger's Plumbing Service Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Calls 353 387 342 374 396 409 399 412 408

Slide 32

Example: Augers Plumbing Service



Steps to Trend Projection Using Excel Step 1: Select an empty cell (B13) in the worksheet. Step 2: Select the Insert pull-down menu. pull Step 3: Choose the Function option. Step 4: When the Paste Function dialog box appears: Choose Statistical in Function Category box. Choose Forecast in the Function Name box. Select OK. more . . . . . . .

Slide 33

Example: Augers Plumbing Service



Steps to Trend Projecting Using Excel (continued) Step 5: When the Forecast dialog box appears: Enter 10 in the x box (for month 10). Enter B4:B12 in the Known ys box. Enter A4:A12 in the Known xs box. Select OK. OK.

Slide 34

Example: Augers Plumbing Service



Spreadsheet Showing Trend Projection for Month 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A B C Auger's Plumbing Service Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Calls 353 387 342 374 396 409 399 412 408 423.667

Projected
Slide 35

Example: Augers Plumbing Service (B)

Forecast for December (Month 10) using a threethreeperiod (n = 3) weighted moving average with weights (n of .6, .3, and .1. Then, compare this Month 10 weighted moving average forecast with the Month 10 trend projection forecast.

Slide 36

Example: Augers Plumbing Service (B)



ThreeThree-Month Weighted Moving Average The forecast for December will be the weighted average of the preceding three months: September, October, and November. F10 = .1YSep. + .3YOct. + .6YNov. .1Y .3Y .6Y = .1(399) + .3(412) + .6(408) = 408.3 Trend Projection F10 = 423.7 (from earlier slide)

Slide 37

Example: Augers Plumbing Service (B)



Conclusion Due to the positive trend component in the time series, the trend projection produced a forecast that is more in tune with the trend that exists. The weighted moving average, even with heavy (.6) placed on the current period, produced a forecast that is lagging behind the changing data.

Slide 38

Forecasting with Trend and Seasonal Components



Steps of Multiplicative Time Series Model 1. Calculate the centered moving averages (CMAs). 2. Center the CMAs on integer-valued periods. integer3. Determine the seasonal and irregular factors (StIt ). (S 4. Determine the average seasonal factors. 5. Scale the seasonal factors (St ). (S 6. Determine the deseasonalized data. 7. Determine a trend line of the deseasonalized data. 8. Determine the deseasonalized predictions. 9. Take into account the seasonality.

Slide 39

Example: Terrys Tie Shop

Business at Terry's Tie Shop can be viewed as falling into three distinct seasons: (1) Christmas (November(November-December); (2) Father's Day (late May midmid-June); and (3) all other times. Average weekly sales (in $'s) during each of these three seasons during the past four years has been as follows: Year Season 1 2 3 4 1 1856 1995 2241 2280 2 2012 2168 2306 2408 3 985 1072 1105 1120 Determine a forecast for the average weekly sales in year 5 for each of the three seasons.
Slide 40

Example: Terrys Tie Shop

Dollar Moving Scaled Year Season Sales (Yt) Average StIt (Y St Yt/St 1 1 1856 1.178 1576 2 2012 1617.67 1.244 1.236 1628 3 985 1664.00 .592 .586 1681 2 1 1995 1716.00 1.163 1.178 1694 2 2168 1745.00 1.242 1.236 1754 3 1072 1827.00 .587 .586 1829 3 1 2241 1873.00 1.196 1.178 1902 2 2306 1884.00 1.224 1.236 1866 3 1105 1897.00 .582 .586 1886 4 1 2280 1931.00 1.181 1.178 1935 2 2408 1936.00 1.244 1.236 1948 3 1120 .586 1911
Slide 41

Example: Terrys Tie Shop



1. Calculate the centered moving averages. There are three distinct seasons in each year. Hence, take a three season moving average to eliminate seasonal and irregular factors. For example the first moving average is: (1856 + 2012 + 985)/3 =1617.67. 2. Center the CMAs on integer-valued periods. integerThe first moving average computed in step 1 (1617.67) will be centered on season 2 of year 1. Note that the moving averages from step 1 center themselves on integer-valued periods because n is an odd number. integer-

Slide 42

Example: Terrys Tie Shop



3. Determine the seasonal and irregular factors (St ,It ). (S Isolate the trend and cyclical components. For each period t, this is given by: Yt /(Moving Average for period t ). 4. Determine the average seasonal factors. Averaging all St It values corresponding to that season: Season 1: (1.163 + 1.196 + 1.181) /3 = 1.180 Season 2: (1.244 + 1.242 + 1.224 + 1.244) /4 = 1.238 Season 3: (.592 + .587 + .582) /3 = .587

Slide 43

Example: Terrys Tie Shop



5. Scale the seasonal factors (St ). (S Divide each seasonal factor by the average of the seasonal factors. Then average the seasonal factors = (1.180 + 1.238 + .587)/3 = 1.002. Season 1: 1.180/1.002 = 1.178 Season 2: 1.238/1.002 = 1.236 Season 3: .587/1.002 = .586 Total = 3.000

Slide 44

Example: Terrys Tie Shop



6. Determine the deseasonalized data. Divide the data point values, Yt , by St . 7. Determine a trend line of the deseasonalized data. Using the least squares method for t = 1, 2, ..., 12, gives: Tt = 1580.11 + 33.96t 33.96t

Slide 45

Example: Terrys Tie Shop



8. Determine the deseasonalized predictions. Substitute t = 13, 14, and 15 into the least squares equation: T13 = 1580.11 + (33.96)(13) = 2022 T14 = 1580.11 + (33.96)(14) = 2056 T15 = 1580.11 + (33.96)(15) = 2090 9. Take into account the seasonality. Multiply each deseasonalized prediction by its seasonal factor to give the following forecasts for year 5: Season 1: (1.178)(2022) = 2382 Season 2: (1.236)(2056) = 2541 Season 3: ( .586)(2090) = 1225
Slide 46

Qualitative Approaches to Forecasting



Delphi Approach A panel of experts, each of whom is physically separated from the others and is anonymous, is asked to respond to a sequential series of questionnaires. After each questionnaire, the responses are tabulated and the information and opinions of the entire group are made known to each of the other panel members so that they may revise their previous forecast response. The process continues until some degree of consensus is achieved.

Slide 47

Qualitative Approaches to Forecasting



Scenario Writing Scenario writing consists of developing a conceptual scenario of the future based on a well defined set of assumptions. After several different scenarios have been developed, the decision maker determines which is most likely to occur in the future and makes decisions accordingly.

Slide 48

Qualitative Approaches to Forecasting



Subjective or Interactive Approaches These techniques are often used by committees or panels seeking to develop new ideas or solve complex problems. They often involve "brainstorming sessions". It is important in such sessions that any ideas or opinions be permitted to be presented without regard to its relevancy and without fear of criticism.

Slide 49

The End of Chapter 6

Slide 50