You need to apply Queueing theory with multiple inputs and distributions.
Quote from kut2k2:
What you want is called an ARIMAX model (AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average with eXogenous inputs)
Y = ARIMA (p,d,q) + c1*Z1 + c2*Z2 + ... + cn*Zn ,
where Zi = 1 when Xi is present and Zi = 0 when Xi is absent.
I think you need a minimum of 50 data points to make an ARIMA model, so you'll probably want at least 50 + n for ARIMAX.
Quote from nitro:
I could do a t-test for missing values when they are not there, and fill in that number. I don't know if this is better than entering a zero for the "missing" values....
Regression is a model, and so is ARIMA(X). I never use regression myself precisely because it assumes a model for the data, and all I want to do is remove the noise from my time series. But I'm not dealing with exogenous inputs like the OP is. At least ARIMAX(p,d,q,b) doesn't assume a model upfront; it finds the best fitting model for the data.Quote from bashatrader:
He wants to know in what ways the inputs affect his foracast, not just get a forecast. Maybe you should read the question carefully before answering. His question is very advanced and it can be answered possibly by dynamic stochastic estimation. He needs to get a model of the ssytem, not apply regression to get a forecast.
OK, you described the Xi's as discrete events, now you're talking about them as continuous variables. Which is it?Quote from nitro:
You know, what is interesting is that this is nothing more than a calculus problem.
All we want is the partial derivatives of each Xn with respect to each other. Transforming with the Jacobian to a more suitable coordinate system.
What confuses me is the statistical/probabilistic aspect of this problem.
They are discreet. Replace partial derivative with finite differences...Quote from kut2k2:
OK, you described the Xi's as discrete events, now you're talking about them as continuous variables. Which is it?
If they are discrete, I still think ARIMAX is the way to go, but if interaction is a factor, your model should look more like
... + c1*Z1 + ... + cb*Zb + g[1,2]*Z1*Z2 + .... + g[b-1,b]*Z[b-1]*Zb
Quote from bashatrader:
He wants to know in what ways the inputs affect his foracast, not just get a forecast. Maybe you should read the question carefully before answering. His question is very advanced and it can be answered possibly by dynamic stochastic estimation. He needs to get a model of the ssytem, not apply regression to get a forecast.