BACKGROUND INFORMATION -

For this milestone, the goal is to allow you to continue your analysis form Milestone One and forecast various operational parameters for your chosen phone option. There are numerous forecasting tools and techniques available. However, for this project you will only use the naïve, moving average, and exponential smoothing (technique). In addition, you will evaluate trends in time series data, an invaluable skill in the business operations industry. Do not forget to include any assumptions you made during your analysis, as this will be important to decision makers reviewing your documentation.

PROMPT

Often times as part of a Business Case Analysis (BCA), a forecast technique will be utilized to support the recommendation(s). In this milestone, you will complete the forecasting report.

This activity will address the following Module Outcomes:

• Predict the best forecasting model for a given business process and associated historical data, using native forecasts, moving averages, exponential smoothing, and trends in time series data.

• Assess the best option for sequencing steps in a process utilizing a variety of scheduling rules including shortest-processing-time, weighted-shortest-processing-time, and earliest-due-date.

TASKS -

Using the phone option, you recommended in Milestone One, complete the following:

1. Forecasting using naive, moving averages, and exponential smoothing from data in Milestone One.

2. Evaluation of trends in time series data relating to Milestone One choice you selected (there will be data set for each of four possible options).

3. Provide recommendation for and justify a 3-year forecast for expected sales of phones in two different market locations (geographical) (this will be in the format of a Forecast Report, using the provided template).