Add a forecast

You can select a forecast start week up to 26 weeks before or after the current week.

Notes:
  • The automatic best method selection forecasting method uses best practices, outlier detection, mathematical fixes for missing data, and advanced time-series forecasting techniques to develop individual forecasts with the lowest possible error. Unlike the weighted historical index method, the automated best method selection option uses all available historical data.
  • When you choose the weighted historical index with source data import:
    • You can select a file to import, rather than use the system’s historical data.
    • The system allows up to eight source days, for example, up to eight historical Mondays for the forecast Monday.
    • Using this method, the system maps imported data as source days for the forecast days. As a result, it becomes a weighted historical data option. The only difference between the import data method and the weighted historical index method is where the system obtains the data for the source data days.
  • For information about using forecasts in schedules, see Generate a load-based schedule.

To create a short-term forecast, perform the following steps:

  1. Click Admin.
  2. Under Workforce Management, click Forecasts.
  3. In the upper right corner, click the Business Unit list and select the desired management unit.
  4. To change the time zone in which you view data, in the upper right corner select the current time zone list.
    Note: By default, the view uses the management unit’s time zone.
  5. Click Add . The Add Forecast page opens.
  6. At the end of the Forecast Start Week box, click the calendar and then click to highlight a week for the forecast.
    Note: To display a future or previous date, click the arrows next to the month and year or use the month and year lists.
  7. In the Number Of Weeks box, select from 1 to 6 weeks.
    Note: Different creation methods support different number of weeks:
    • Automatic Best Method Selection and Import Forecast support forecasts up to 6 weeks and a long-term interval up to 104 weeks within the same forecast.
    • Weighted Historical Index and Weighted Historical Index with Source Data Import support forecasts that are 1 week long.
  8. In the Forecast Duration box, enable the checkbox if you want to use the short-term interval forecast for scheduling.
  9. Under Scheduling, to use the forecast for scheduling, enable the check box. This check box can be enables after you create the forecast within the Forecast list view.
  10. In the Description box, optionally include information to differentiate it from other forecasts for the same week.
  11. Under Creation Method, do one of the following: 
    • To automatically create the forecast using the best method, select Automatic best method selection.

      Note: With Genesys Cloud EX, forecasting based on data injected from an external system should always be performed using the Automatic Best Method. While the Weighted Historical Index might work in most cases, when the weighted historical index calculation is performed, any conversation data older than one day is permanently cached and any data before that time that has not yet been injected are permanently excluded. If there are any delays with injecting data from the external system, using Weighted Historical Index results in inaccurate and unreliable forecasts due to incomplete data.

    • To create the forecast using previously captured historical Genesys Cloud data and specifying a historical index weighting, select Weighted Historical Index.
    • To create the forecast using data from a .csv file, and specifying a historical index weighting, select Weighted Historical Index with Source Data Import.
      • To import a final forecast that you created externally, select Import Short-Term Interval Forecast Data and then select the .csv file to import for a maximum of 6 weeks. Click the example link to view the example file.
        Note: When you use the Import Forecast option, all data in the file must fall with in the forecast duration period. Otherwise, the system returns an error.
         
    • Click Add Forecast. The forecast opens.