What-if scenarios are usually based on range estimates, and are often constructed informally. What is the worst case for sales? What if sales are best case but expenses are the worst case? What if sales are average, but expenses are the best case? What if sales are average, expenses are average, but sales for the next month are flat?
These traditional methods have limitations:
Changing only one spreadsheet cell at a time makes it virtually impossible to explore the entire range of possible outcomes.
"What-if" analysis always results in single-point estimates that do not indicate the likelihood of achieving any particular outcome. While single-point estimates might tell you what is possible, they do not tell you what is probable.
This is where simulation with Crystal Ball comes in. Crystal Ball uses Monte Carlo simulation to generate a range of values for assumptions you define. These inputs feed into formulas defined in forecast cells.
You can use this process to explore ranges of outcomes, expressed as graphical forecasts. You can view and use forecast charts to estimate the probability, or certainty, of a particular outcome.