Forecasting Methods and Analysis

Assignment Overview
Today’s business professional must be able to gather relevant internal and industry data, analyze and
interpret the data, present it in a logical manner, and utilize the findings to improve operations.
Forecasting is an important planning tool for many aspects of operations, including the building of
master production schedules.
You will learn about the ways in which trends impact demand, and how to establish time horizons. You
will also analyze data trends to select the operational strategy for an organization’s product or service.
Assignment Instructions
Select a product or service that you are familiar with and identify historical business and cultural trends
that can inform future operational strategies for companies.
1. Describe the product or service by:
a. Defining the current market for the product or service.
b. Identifying the top 3-5 companies (in sales or customers) that provide the product or
service.
c. Identifying the forecast determined from the data.
i.Consider market drivers related to the product or service, including:
1. Market size
2. Market growth
3. Industry/government regulations
4. Workforce management
5. Technological advancements
2. Analyze the data trends by:
a. Identifying the drivers for demand by gathering business and cultural historical trends
over at least the last 5 years.
i.Consider drivers related to:
1. Industry standards
2. Consumer preferences
3. Consumer demographics
4. Technological advancements
b. Researching data trends for product/service industries. Examples of resources that you
could use include:
i.JD Powers: A Global Market Research Company (Link available on assignment
page)
ii.Pew Research Center (Link available on assignment page)
iii.Nielsen (Link available on assignment page)
2
c. Using Excel or other graphing software, graph the historical data trends.
3. Summarize key trends that can inform operational strategies by:
a. Considering areas in which organizations can better manage resources and improve
products/services offered, including:
i.Human resources
ii.Information resources
iii.Product and service design
iv.Logistics
b. Summarizing key findings from data trend analysis, including:
i.Explanation of how findings may inform operational strategies
ii.Discussion of which areas to make improvements in
iii.Discussion of any data limitations
Scope
• Citation requirements
• Word count (750-1000)
• APA formatting
o Title page
o Reference page
• Plagiarism submission
Assignment Requirements
Forecasting Method and Analysis
• Description of the product/services, including a description of the current market and key
industry leaders.
• Trend analysis of the industry data, including:
o Collection and analysis of industry data
o Visual diagram summarizing collected data
o Summary of industry data trends
• Summary of the influence of industry data trends on operational strategies, considering:
o Future impact on the business/industries
o Data limitations
• Complete references of work cited in APA format.