Overview

Learn to turn historical business data into credible, forward-looking forecasts using spreadsheets and Tableau—no coding or statistics background required. Identify trend, seasonality, and noise in time-series data, then build baseline forecasts using naive, moving average, and trend methods. Generate automated ETS forecasts in a BI tool, interpret prediction intervals to communicate uncertainty, and recognize the limits of black-box methods. Optional statistics and Tableau skills checks let you skip what you already know. In the capstone, forecast tourism demand across two European markets and recommend where a business should launch—turning your projections into a defensible, real-world decision.

Syllabus

Course Introduction

Get started with business time series forecasting. Meet your instructors, review required tools, and preview the project focused on data-driven market entry recommendations.

Skills Check: Statistics

Check your understanding of key statistics skills—summarization and relationships—to identify gaps before moving into time-series data analysis.

Data Summarization

Summarize datasets using frequencies, measures of center and spread, and descriptive statistics like five-number summaries and tables.

Data Relationships

Explore how values relate using ratios, proportions, and correlations to compare parts and measure connections between variables.

Introduction to Time-Series Data

Identify trends, seasonality, and noise in time series to forecast future values while accounting for uncertainty and the differing costs of over- and underforecasting.

Baseline Forecasting with Spreadsheets

Apply naive, moving average, and trend forecasts in spreadsheets, plot your data, and recognize the limits of simple forecasting methods.

Skills Check: Tableau

Test your Tableau skills with questions on basics, visualizations, aggregation, and hierarchies to identify which modules you can skip before moving on to forecasting.

Getting Started with Tableau

Get started with Tableau by installing the software, connecting to datasets, and preparing your workspace for analysis.

Getting Started with Tableau Visualizations

Learn how to build and save your first Tableau visualizations using dimensions, measures, and calculated fields.

Aggregations and Granularity in Tableau

Learn how to control aggregation and granularity in Tableau to create more insightful visualizations.

Using Hierarchies for Drill-Down Analysis

Build interactive visualizations by drilling into custom and automatic hierarchies in Tableau.

Understanding Forecast Uncertainty

Understand prediction intervals to communicate forecast uncertainty, explain why intervals widen over time, and make better planning decisions based on forecasting risk.

ETS Forecasting with Tableau

Generate automated forecasts with BI tools, interpret ETS (Error, Trend, Seasonality)-based predictions, choose the right data granularity, and recognize the limits of black-box forecasting.

Course Review

Review key skills: summarizing data, time series forecasting in spreadsheets and Tableau, handling uncertainty, and preparing for your own tourism market analysis project.

Forecasting Tourism Demand for Market Entry

You're an analyst for a camper van rental company. Forecast tourism demand for two European markets using spreadsheets and Tableau, then recommend where to launch.