growth vs. forecast.

[Vincent Jones]

can someone explain to me the difference between growth vs. forecast.
also, are there any resources, that you know of, that can help me get
a grasp of the analysis tool pak in excel

 

[Bernard V Liengme]

Hi Vincent,
FORECAST assumes the date is linear - i.e. that is can be reasonably fitted
to y=mx+b
GROWTH assumes the data is exponential - can be fit to y=aEXP(mx)

For me, the best resources are books but I am an old man.
Best wishes
Bernard
www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme

 

[Steve Andrews]

Vincent,

The Growth function assumes an exponential model (y=b*m^x)
while the Forecast function assumes a linear model
(y=a+b*x).

So the choice depends on your gut feel as to whether the
data is closer to being linear or exponential. There are
of course processes for determining linearity if you don't
trust your gut feelings.

Steve