Forecast error is the difference between the actual value of a variable and its predicted or forecasted value. It's a measure of how well a forecast aligns with reality. In essence, it quantifies the "off-by" amount in a prediction.
Different types of errors
- MAD
- MAE
- MASE
- MAPE
MAD (Mean Absolute Deviation):
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Measures the average absolute deviation from the mean of the data, not necessarily from predictions.
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Formula (population MAD):
where is the mean of the data .
Let’s say you have actual sales: [100, 120, 130]
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Predicted:
[110, 115, 125]
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Mean of actuals:
116.67
MAD:
MAE (Mean Absolute Error):
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Measures the average absolute difference between actual and predicted values.
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Formula:
where is the actual value and is the predicted value.
MAE:
Measures the average absolute difference between actual and predicted values.
Formula:
where is the actual value and is the predicted value.
MAE:
MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error):
MAPE measures the average of the absolute percentage errors between actual and predicted values.
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= actual value
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= predicted value
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= number of observations
Example
Actual values:[100, 200, 300]
Predicted:[90, 210, 310]
MASE compares the model's prediction error to the error of a naïve forecast (usually the one-step lagged actuals). It scales the mean absolute error (MAE) of your forecast by the mean absolute error of the naïve forecast.
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= Actual value at time
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= Predicted value at time
Example (Small Forecast Series):
Actual:[100, 110, 120, 130]
Predicted:[98, 111, 118, 129]
Model MAE = average of |100-98|, |110-111|, |120-118|, |130-129|
= (2+1+2+1)/4 = 1.5
Naïve MAE = average of |110-100|, |120-110|, |130-120|
= (10+10+10)/3 = 10
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MASE < 1: Your model is better than the naïve forecast.
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MASE = 1: Your model performs the same as the naïve forecast.
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MASE > 1: Your model is worse than the naïve forecast.