2006 Forecasting Software Survey

The information in the survey that follows was provided by the vendors in response to a questionnaire developed by Jack Yurkiewicz. The survey should not be considered as comprehensive, but rather as a representation of available forecasting packages. Questionnaires were sent to vendors drawn from previous survey participants, the OR/MS Today database and other sources. It includes the products of those vendors who responded by the deadline. If you know of a forecasting package that is not in this survey, please contact Patton McGinley at (770) 431-0867, ext. 214 or e-mail them to patton@lionhrtpub.com. They will be included in an online version.

Be sure to read the accompanying article.

The survey is divided into 12 separate pages. Following is an index of the pages and the information they contain:

Page 1
Publisher
Operating Systems
Software Capabilities: Automatic; Semi-automatic; Manual

Page 2
Data Entry:
Is there a maximum number of observations in time-series?
How many?
Import:
Reads Excel files
If Not, What Modifications Must be Made?
Additional Import File Formats Available?

Page 3
Exports: Exports Output to Excel Files; Exports Sessions; Exports Graphics (Formats)

Page 4
Graphics Types: Time-series Plot; Scatter Diagram; Forecast Plot; Autocorrelation Partial; Autocorrelation Function; Residual Plot; Bar, Pie, Other Business Chart; Others

Page 5
Techniques Available:
- Exponential Smoothing:
Brown's Methods (Simple, Double, Triple Exponential Smoothing); Holt's Two-Parameter Method; Winter's Three Parameter Method; Adaptive Response Rate

Page 6
Techniques Available (continued):
- Exponential Smoothing (continued):
Harrison's Harmonic Smoothing; Damped Trend; Program Finds Optimal Parameters; Other Features (smoothing parameters outside zero-one interval, etc.)

Page 7
Techniques Available (continued):
- Time Series Decomposition:
Moving Average Methods; Classical Decomposition; Census Bureau Methods
- Box-Jenkins (ARIMA):
Program Recommends Optimal Model

Page 8
Techniques Available (continued):
- Regression:
Maximum Number of Independent Variables; Maximum Number of Observations; Other linear regression models (stepwise, best subsets, etc.); Nonlinear Regression Models; Dynamic Regression
- Other Univariate Techniques:
Trend Analysis; If yes, specify trend models (i.e., exponential, S-Curve, Pearl-Reed, Logistic, Gompertz, etc.)

Page 9
Techniques Available (continued):
- Multivariate Techniques:
Spectral Analysis; Kalman Filter; Fourier Analysis; State Space Models; Transfer Function Model; Interventional Analysis; Econometric Models; SABL; Neural Networks; Others?

Page 10
Documentation:
On-line Help and Tutorial; Other Features (e.g. software offers forecating advice, etc.)
Price:
Commercial; Educational

Page 11
New Features (since Nov. 2004))
Comments

Vendor List

The survey appeared in the August 2006 issue of OR/MS Today. To order a copy of this issue, contact Customer Service at 770-431-0867, ext. 201 or send e-mail to: csr@lionhrtpub.com.



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