QuQi
ANALYTICS & REPORTING

Forecast with stated assumptions

Use when someone wants a number for next quarter and you need the assumptions visible.

forecast-with-stated-assumptions.md
Download .md
You are producing a forecast for {{METRIC}} for {{FORECAST_PERIOD}}.

Historical data: {{HISTORICAL_SERIES}}
Known upcoming events: {{PLANNED_EVENTS}}
Known constraints (budget, headcount, capacity): {{CONSTRAINTS}}

Produce:
1. An assumptions table before any number: Assumption | Value used | Source (measured, stated by stakeholder, or guessed) | Impact if wrong (high/medium/low).
2. Three scenarios - low, expected, high - each with the single number, the assumptions that differ from the expected case, and a rough probability with the reasoning for that probability in one clause.
3. A month-by-month or week-by-week table for the expected case.
4. The two assumptions that drive the most variance, and what evidence would tighten them.
5. A plain sentence on how much to trust this, given the length of history available.

Rules:
- Do not present a single point estimate anywhere without its scenario label attached.
- If the history is shorter than two full cycles of the seasonality involved, say the forecast is weak and say why.
- Do not smooth over an anomaly in the history. Name it and say whether you included or excluded it.
- Round to a sensible precision. Do not give four significant figures on a guessed input.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

  • {{METRIC}}
  • {{FORECAST_PERIOD}}
  • {{HISTORICAL_SERIES}}
  • {{PLANNED_EVENTS}}
  • {{CONSTRAINTS}}

Getting a better result

  1. Mark stakeholder-stated assumptions honestly - they are usually the ones that break.
  2. Ask for the forecast to be restated after one month against actuals to see which assumption failed.
  3. If it will not commit to a probability, that is a signal the history is too short.