Forecasting is a term that carries some baggage with it. When the term is used, many people often think of weather forecasting and how right or wrong it can be. Forecasting can also be used to predict anything that can be measured. There are sales forecasts, interest rate forecasts, and population forecasts to name a few. With that being said, forecasts are never perfect. We do not have crystal balls or oracles that can tell us exactly what will happen. However, usually we do not need perfect; we just need close enough.

This publication teaches how to perform very basic forecasting. The student should be able to compute an average, square a number, and be able to do basic arithmetic. The lesson presented here is not designed to be an entire curriculum, but rather a piece of a larger curriculum in subjects such as analytics, business, and even applied mathematics.

This publication takes a different way of presenting material. Many math and analytics books present topics without presenting a realistic way of applying them. This publication offers the subject matter embedded in real-life situations. The purpose in this is to provide the student with usefulness, not just knowledge. That is the purpose of education.