One of the core elements of the forecasting workflow is the model training process. The quality of the model's training will have a direct impact on the forecast output. The main goals of this process are as follows:
- Formalize the relationship of the series with other factors, such as seasonal and trend patterns, correlation with past lags, and external variables in a predictive manner
- Tune the model parameters (when applicable)
- The model is scalable on new data, or in other words, avoids overfitting
As we mentioned previously, prior to the training process, the series is split into training and testing partitions, where the model is being trained on the training partition and tested on the testing partition. These partitions must be in chronological order, regardless of the training approach that has been used. The main reason for this is that most...