Thus, the forecast at the end of week 3 would have been 397 patients for week 4, which fell short of actual demand by 18 patients. The forecast for week 5, made at the end of week 4, would be 402 patients. If a forecastis needed now for week 6 and beyond, it would also be for 402 patients.The moving average method may involve the use of as many periods of past demand as desired.Large values of n should be used for demand series that are stable, and small values of n should be usedfor those that are susceptible to changes in the underlying average. If n is set to its lowest level (i.e., 1), itbecomes the naïve method.