Which analytics type forecasts future outcomes?

• A. Descriptive analytics
• B. Predictive analytics
• C. Diagnostic analytics
• D. Prescriptive analytics

Answer: (B)

Forecasting future outcomes is what predictive analytics does best. It builds models from historical data to estimate what will happen next, such as forecasting next quarter’s sales, demand, churn risk, or other future states, using methods like regression, time-series analysis, and machine learning. Descriptive analytics summarizes past data, diagnostic analytics explains why something happened, and prescriptive analytics suggests actions to optimize outcomes. So predictive analytics is the approach that focuses on forecasting what comes next.