Business Analytics

This discussion is based on the article, “Manager’s Guide to Forecasting” by David
Georgoff and Robert Murdick from Harvard Business Review.
Georgoff, D. M., & Murdick, R. G. (1986). Manager's guide to forecasting. Harvard
Business Review, 64(1), 110–120.
This week’s article provides an overview of many forecasting methodologies and
provides a framework through which you can explore their differences.
Your objective is to learn to analyze a specific forecasting situation and identify the
best suited methodology. You will complete three steps.
Step 1: Describe a specific forecasting need in your organization.
Step 2: Use the provided table below to analyze the requirements of the forecasting
problem.
Step 3: Identify the best matching forecasting methodology to your situation and
describe how it would be executed.
In Step 2, the analysis will be based on the table shown on pages 4 and 5 of the
article. This table lists several questions about the nature of the forecasting situation,
such as the urgency, detail required, and costs factors, and provides an overview of
how well various forecasting methodologies will fit those requirements. For example,
some forecasting methods cost more than others and depending on your financial
resources, some of them may not be suitable. The same holds true with the math
skills available or the need for high accuracy. So, understand what each category is
referring to, fill in the information, and follow the table to see which methodology is
recommended for your specific case. You are learning how to analyze your situation
so as to pick the best approach. Please note that these 2 pages in the article (pages
4–5) go side by side. You may wish to print them out and place them next to each
other to read across the rows comfortably. The table shown below is based on the
table in the article. Also note that many of the squares are shaded light or dark grey
to show strength or weakness in each category.
Full instructions on how to use the table are in the second column of page 6 in the
article.
Please use the template below in your answers so everyone can easily follow your
answers to all the questions (copy and paste to your post).
Use this format.
Forecast need
Describe what question this forecast aims to answer, and why it is important for your
organization to have this information.

Forecast situation analysis
Identify a forecast method by filling in the table below. The full table is on pages 4–5
of the article. You should fill in the table by answering the questions in the
“Questions” column. Your answers will lead you to the methods that are most suitable
for your forecasting need. The ideal fit will give you a strong match to your answers in
the “output” section of the table, while still meeting the conditions in the “time”, “input”
and “resource requirements” sections.