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PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS
Distribution Definitions & Parameter Reference
                 
DISTRIBUTION TYPE REFERENCE
Distribution Formula Parameters Mean Variance Best Use Case Skewness PDF Shape Excel Function
Normal f(x) = (1/σ√2π)e^(-(x-μ)^2/2σ^2) μ (mean), σ (std dev) μ σ^2 Revenue growth, price changes 0 (Symmetric) Bell curve NORM.INV(RAND(),μ,σ)
Lognormal f(x) = (1/xσ√2π)e^(-(ln(x)-μ)^2/2σ^2) μ (log mean), σ (log std) e^(μ+σ^2/2) (e^(σ^2)-1)e^(2μ+σ^2) Asset prices, market cap Right-skewed (>0) Right-tailed LOGNORM.INV(RAND(),μ,σ)
Triangular Piecewise linear a (min), b (mode), c (max) (a+b+c)/3 (a^2+b^2+c^2-ab-ac-bc)/18 Cost estimates, project durations Depends on a,b,c Triangle Custom (see engine)
Uniform f(x) = 1/(b-a) a (min), b (max) (a+b)/2 (b-a)^2/12 Unknown dist, equal likelihood 0 (Symmetric) Rectangle a+RAND()*(b-a)
Beta f(x) = x^(α-1)(1-x)^(β-1)/B(α,β) α (shape1), β (shape2) α/(α+β) αβ/((α+β)^2(α+β+1)) Percentages, probabilities, rates Depends on α,β Flexible BETA.INV(RAND(),α,β)
VARIABLE DISTRIBUTION ASSIGNMENTS
Risk Variable Distribution Param 1 (Mean/Min) Param 2 (StdDev/Mode) Param 3 (Max) Lower Bound Upper Bound Source Sheet Status
Revenue Growth Rate Normal 8.0% 5.0%   -10.0% 30.0% Assumptions Active
COGS % of Revenue Normal 55.0% 3.0%   30.0% 80.0% Assumptions Active
OpEx Growth Rate Normal 4.0% 2.0%   0.0% 15.0% Assumptions Active
Price Change Normal 0.0% 3.0%   -15.0% 15.0% Assumptions Active
Interest Rate Lognormal 5.0% 1.0%   1.0% 15.0% Assumptions Active
Demand Volume Triangular 350,000 500,000 700,000 350,000 700,000 Assumptions Active
Portfolio Return Normal 10.0% 15.0%   -40.0% 50.0% Assumptions Active
Tax Rate Variation Uniform 20.0%   30.0% 20.0% 30.0% Assumptions Active
DISTRIBUTION SELECTION GUIDE
Criterion Normal Lognormal Triangular Uniform
Symmetric data ✓ Best Possible ✓ Best
Right-skewed data ✓ Best Possible Possible
Bounded [0,1] ✓ Best
Expert estimates only Possible ✓ Best
No info on shape
Can be negative ✓ Best Possible
STANDARD NORMAL QUANTILE REFERENCE
Confidence Level Z-Score (1-tail) Z-Score (2-tail) Interpretation Common Use
90.0% 1.2816 1.6449 10% of outcomes worse Moderate confidence
95.0% 1.6449 1.9600 5% of outcomes worse Industry standard VaR
97.5% 1.9600 2.2414 2.5% of outcomes worse Stress testing
99.0% 2.3263 2.5758 1% of outcomes worse Basel III / regulatory
99.9% 3.0902 3.2905 0.1% of outcomes worse Extreme tail risk
NOTES
• Green values reference the Assumptions sheet — changes propagate automatically
• Distribution assignments drive the Simulation Engine random number generation
• Z-scores are used for VaR and confidence interval calculations in Portfolio VaR sheet