Sometimes called a sensitivity analysis, a what-if analysis allows you to study how changing one or more values affects the results. Please briefly describe the following terms related to performing a what-if analysis: decision variables, constants, and output variables.
What will be an ideal response?
Decision variables are values that could change and affect the results. Statisticians refer to these as independent variables. Identify decision variables by asking whether changing the value would also change the results. If so, treat it as a decision variable.
Constants are elements that are not likely to change much over time. They do not vary in a what-if analysis.
Output variables are values in the results that could change if the decision variables change. Output variables are often referred to as dependent variables because their value depends on the independent variables. These are the results that you are calculating and studying with the what-if analysis.
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