This course provides students with an understanding of the theory and practice of business forecasting, as applied to real data and practical problems in forecasting. In particular, students will be taught the formal procedures of identifying and understanding characteristics of time series data in business and economics, and the basic skills for developing and analyzing models for forecasting time series data. At the end of the course, students should be able to use a standard computer package to carry out these analyses.

CILO-1: Demonstrate understanding of terminology in time series modelling and necessity of forecasting in various situations. CILO-2: Demonstrate knowledge of the important properties that describe a time series. CILO-3: Demonstrate the ability to identify past patterns in time series data. CILO-4: Demonstrate the ability to choose an appropriate forecasting method in a particular environment. CILO-5: Demonstrate the ability to develop various methods of forecasting to practical problems based on real data including assessing forecast accuracy and criticizing the results to enhance forecasting performance. CILO-6: Demonstrate the ability to prepare oral and written report on various forecasting models and their accuracy that would allow a non-expert to make business plans and decisions. CILO-7: Demonstrate the ability to estimate forecasting models using computer softwares.