What is a Scenario?
A scenario is a meaningful "snap shot" of a future point in time that integrates objective and subjective parts of other forecasts. A scenario may be a set of planning variables like sales growth or cost changes or a written description of a future situation. Usually multiple, alternative scenarios are developed to present a more realistic picture of the possibilities. Scenario planning is often valuable because it is impossible to know precisely “how the future will play out". In uncertain situations it is often desirable to choose a decision or strategy that is advantageous across several possible future scenarios. The purpose of scenario planning is to highlight large-scale forces that push the future in different directions.