Converting ArcMap BA Templates to ArcGIS Pro 3.3

[GISDesignConcepts_Admin]

I am currently updating several Business Analyst report templates from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro. I noticed that a recent update in ArcGIS Pro introduced the Fusion Pro Report Editor, which I hope to use for these updates. I also found an article about converting existing templates from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro (link).

I’ve downloaded and installed the toolbox provided in the article, but when I run the Python script, it consistently fails at line 142 (ReportID). The article also discusses converting BDS files to SDCX files, which raised a question: Is this conversion necessary when using ESRI demographic datasets? My reports are based on ESRI datasets, though I have incorporated custom variables within the templates, which combine or manipulate existing ESRI variables.

Am I missing something in using this tool correctly? Has anyone else successfully migrated their reports? I understand that reports can be rebuilt in Business Analyst Online (BAO) and accessed in ArcGIS Pro, but one feature I appreciated in ArcMap was the ability to not only assign an alias but also define the actual calculated field name. In BAO, calculated fields appear as the field name followed by a global ID (e.g., FieldName248358sdfv8a2873357).

I’ve streamlined some internal processes by setting up automations that rely on consistent naming conventions. Reworking these would be challenging, so any insight into the limitations on this front would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for any assistance!

[HelenThompson]

Hi GISDesignConcepts
In BA Web you can use calculated fields and assigned them a name and alias. By default a calculated field is given a descriptive field like Esri's own attributes so perhaps we can help with this aspect as your question does not specify how the data is created or where it is hosted.

For Classic Reports this can be migrated to Pro and I assume they are based on custom data and custom variables as BDS files rather than statistical collections (SDCXs). Have you tried recreating the data file in BA Pro (or Web) rather than migrating them?

How big (number rows, columns) are the files you are working with and the reports? There are ways to migrate both and our recommendation for 2024 is to move towards infographic templates rather than classic reports. Many of the aspects of automation, print quality, branding and support of new user experiences are far superior with infographics.

[GISDesignConcepts_Admin]

Helen, 

Thank you for your response. I apologize if I was not clear about my datasets. I am an ESRI Business Analyst Desktop user. We download and maintain the BA Desktop demographic and mapping data locally. In ArcMap you are able to create both the Name and Alias of the custom variable field. An example is shown below:

Is this functionality available in ArcGIS Pro using the Report Editor, as it was in ArcMap? If so, could you please explain how to achieve this? You also mentioned BAO—can the same be done there?

From @HelenThompson 
For Classic Reports this can be migrated to Pro and I assume they are based on custom data and custom variables as BDS files rather than statistical collections (SDCXs). Have you tried recreating the data file in BA Pro (or Web) rather than migrating them?

I want to clarify that I’m not using "custom" data but rather bringing over custom reports created with the BA datasets provided by Esri, which are installed locally. Do templates based on BA datasets require conversion to SDCX format? Would all the Esri BDS layers need to be converted? While this seems counterintuitive, I wanted to confirm before proceeding down this path

As I mentioned earlier, I have started converting some templates in BA Pro, but I’ve found no option to specify the Name and Alias fields like I could in ArcMap. This is critical for maintaining my other workflows, which rely on the Name field for sorting and other tasks.

As for there number of fields in the reports, I would say it averages about 30 fields with at least 10 of them being calculated fields from existing BA data sets. Such as those shown in the image above. We bring the report into excel as a stripped xls and process additional workflows and formatting as is standard for our product packages.

While we do integrate infographics where appropriate, there are instances where stakeholders need more than just visual representations—they want to analyze the raw numbers. In many cases, these reports feed into cannibalization analysis or lead to additional reports and map sets, which are critical for informed decision-making, particularly in commercial real estate.

I appreciate any further clarification you can provide on these issues.

[HelenThompson]

BA Pro supports the same report and infographic editing as BA Web. It is the same user experience but loads locally installed templates (or BA Web if using Online as the portal).

You access the editor from the BA ribbon

Open any of the templates. The Community Summary uses custom variables to define jobs. When you edit the panel you can see the variables used within it


Editing an individual variable opens us the calculator. You can see how a variable like Services is made up of a set of variables and calculations. Use the calculation editor to change or create custom variables.



The variable name can be edited in reports or infographics. and persist across years of data.

I hope this helps
H

[GISDesignConcepts_Admin]

@HelenThompson  - Thank you for your response. I have looked at both the local and online versions but did not see a way to specify the Name and Alias fields. Do you know how I can do this? 

Thank you in advance for your help!

Best, John