Mode

The mode is the value that occurs most frequently in a set of values. The greatest degree of clustering occurs at the mode.

The modal wage, for example, is the one received by the greatest number of workers. The modal color for a new product is the one preferred by the greatest number of consumers.

In a perfectly symmetrical distribution, such as the normal distribution (the distribution on the left, below), the mean, median, and mode converge at one point.

In an asymmetrical, or skewed, distribution, such as the lognormal distribution, the mean, median, and mode tend to spread out, as shown in the second distribution (on the right) in the following example (Figure 1, Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Distributions).

Figure 1. Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Distributions

This image shows two curves: a perfectly symmetrical normal distribution, in which the mode, median, and mean converge, and an assymmetrical skewed lognormal distribution, in which the mode, median, and mean are spread out.

Note:

When running simulations, forecast data likely will be continuous and no value will occur more than once. In such a case, Crystal Ball sets the mode to ‘---’ in the Statistics view to indicate that the mode is undefined.