Latest Contributions by Jason_RobinsonRobinson

Robert, The Esri Data team put together a detailed example of Average Home Value as a simple example as median functions that estimate the medians based on the values for the Income ranges and their ranges and Excel does not support Medians using linear interpolation however there is some detail in the primary Word document (at the end).  The bottom line is we apportion and aggregate all the values that can be summed for the ring and then perform the Median and Average and any other calculations using the rings sum totals. I would starting with the PDF as these are the summed values and then the Word document as an overall detailed description of the calculations.  The Excel file is basically reference to what is described in the Word document. Let me know if you have an follow up questions. Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Robert, It sounds like you more interested in understanding how calculated variables like average/median are handled in spatial apportionment for custom polygons. The below documentation link is for ArcGIS Business Analyst Desktop software, which has three different spatial apportionment methods that can be toggled and the ability to modify each, however it should provide some additional information when as the default apportionment for both local software and geoenrichment is hybrid. Data tab—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop  For calculated variable the information can be found for the data itself at https://downloads.esri.com/esri_content_doc/dbl/us/J10268_Methodology_Statement_2019-2024_Esri_US_Demographic_Updates.pd…  I will check with the data team to see if there is a little more direct details in how calculated variables, like medians and averages, are handled with spatial apportionment which is ultimately point in polygon type calculations (census block centroids for the most accurate level). Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Arjun, Additionally worth mentioning that there are some license restrictions for the business data even when exported from the local Business Analyst datasets.  If you would like some further information feel free to PM me. Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Hello Dinesh, Naturally releases can be subject to change but generally the annual Esri demographic dataset release will hit online service in June.  For local data installs for ArcGIS Business Analyst Desktop and Business Analyst Pro generally it is 2-3 months so August to September time frames. Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Katherine, As long as Business Analyst Desktop is installed and set to block apportionment Business Analyst Pro will use block apportionment.  I do believe it is a logical enhancement to have the ability to set apportionment in Business Analyst Pro especially for the scenario where one does not have Business Analyst Desktop installed but does have the local data installed and using Business Analyst Pro.  I will go ahead and log one on the Esri Support side. I did go through another round of testing focusing on running Community Profiles but this time not using local data.  Also tested uploading a shapefile to BAO (Fairfax County) as well as a web map version and these reports all match each other (though 2019 population was 4 people difference compared to locally run Community Profile which is an acceptable difference) as well as testing online reports on the ArcGIS Pro side both feature class and web map layer. Infographics on the ArcGIS Pro side with 2019 population also lines up with numbers in the above paragraph. In your original post what was the source for the Fairfax County polygoon you were using? Regards, Jason R. ... View more

 Ok it turns out my initial guess was correct.  If Business Analyst Desktop is installed when using BA Pro tools on local data it will follow along with Business Analyst Desktop Preferences on the apportionment method selected on the Data tab. If Business Analyst Desktop is not installed but client has install local Business Analyst dataset the default apportionment will by Hybrid.  Currently there is no ability in the UI on the Pro side to change this though creating a custom Statistical Data Collection with standard Esri variables one could change the apportionment. Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Katherine, I confirmed that custom Statistical Data Collection on the Pro side will be block apportionment.  Just tracking down down how standard Esri variables are handled on the Pro side with Enrich Layer using local data.  Online data naturally will use the same method as the Business Analyst web application (Business Analyst Online). Calculation estimates for user-created areas—Business Analyst Web App | Documentation  Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Katherine, I was not 100% sure if Enrich Layer in BA Pro was following along with BA Desktop preferences and started digging and it turns out I was incorrect there. So for standard Esri variables there is no way to change the apportionment variables unless they create a Statistical Data Collection (basically the Pro version of Custom BDS layer from BA Desktop) where on can created a Statistical Data Collections of standard variables then change the apportionment method. The online Help link is: Create Business Analyst custom data—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop  Data apportionment ArcGIS Pro employs a Weighted Centroid geographic retrieval methodology to aggregate data for rings and other polygons. The Weighted Centroid retrieval approach uses census block data to better apportion block groups that are not exclusively contained within a polygon. Here is a list of the apportionment methods you can apply to data fields: This sounds like block apportionment instead of the default hybrid setting out of the box in Business Analyst Desktop but still double checking this. For reference the below Help link that details the three apportionment methods available in Business Analyst Desktop: Data tab—Help | ArcGIS Desktop  Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Bryan, I am not on the Business Analyst product team so not sure what is on tap as full fledged custom report designer on the local Business Analyst Pro side.  What you can do now is build a custom report or infographic in the web app (BAO). This gets saves as an item in your portal, which you can then run on the Pro side. This is strictly my own opinion that on the Business Analyst Desktop side of things the probability of any further enhancement related functionality between it and Business Analyst Pro I would think is strongly doubtful. If you have some ideas what you would like to see on the BA Pro side definitely creating a post over in the ArcGIS Ideas portal is a good idea. ArcGIS Ideas  Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Katherine, I know your post here was back in October so not sure if you were able to resolve this but I would definitely recommend logging an Esri Support Case to investigate the issue/discrepancy (if you have did not already do so). I did perform a quick check by running a Community Profile reports in Business Analyst Desktop/Pro/BAO.  All the data values lined up.  For the Business Analyst Desktop/Pro I created Fairfax County polygon feature with the local 2019/2024 dataset. A couple last thoughts on what could be happening is the source of Fairfax County polygon you used on the Pro side (compared to the one BAO creates).  Business Analyst Pro is also going to mirror the current data apportionment settings (from my current understanding but double checking) that are set in the Data tab in ArcGIS Business Analyst Desktop.  This is default set to Hybrid (unmodified/stock) which will generally line up with BAO results though I realize non-custom polygons this does not impact this so a moot point (rings, drive times, hand drawn shapes, etc. will impact data values). Regards, Jason R.. ... View more

Michael, Late reply so not sure if you have resolved this issue but if not I would double check and go to your Control Panel>Programs and Features or Uninstall a program and verify that the Esri Business Analyst local data installs are listed.  As long as the local datasets are officially installed they should be listed.  I have seen a few user who copied over where the data is installed or just had the installer folder on a machine and so the local datasets are not officially installed which would be one reason they are not listed. If they are listed and still not visible on the Pro side open up Registry Editor and first make a registry backup (this might take a minute so be patient).  The navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE and rename the ESRI folder to ESRI_OLD then close out of Registry Editor.  Of course make sure no Esri software is running before doing this. Lastly just a question if ArcGIS Business Analyst Desktop is installed on the same system or if it just the local datasets and ArcGIS Pro. Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Lee, Not sure if you have found this at this point in time but below is the official methodology for the InfoGroup business data which is used for the Business Summary report. https://downloads.esri.com/esri_content_doc/dbl/us/J9940_Methodology_Stmt_Business_Locations_Summary_2019.pdf  Though it does not really go into any detail as to how the employee values are modeled unfortunately. This is from a 3rd party site but does seem to contain more detailed information regarding how InfoGroup generates employee numbers. Infogroup Methods - Infogroup Business USA - Data Planet LibGuides at Data Planet: A SAGE Publishing Resource  Regards, Jason R. ... View more

Hi Eric, I would recommend reaching out to either your Esri Customer Service representative or your Esri Account Manager for information about that.  I am on the Support Services side and have seen requests like this come around.  Generally one will see the vintage when they first purchased Business Analyst Desktop. One specific issue with the 2014/2019 (as well as the 2013/2018) release is that it will have no business data as this was a different 3rd party data source than the one in new and older releases from those two year vintage (InfoGroup is the current data source).  If you do get access to this there will be install errors during the data install but one should be able to skip through them and finish the install normally. Cheers, Jason R. ... View more

Hi Jenny, I do not believe that Business Analyst Online has that functionality but does sound like a good enhancement request.  I would advise making a poster over at ArcGIS Ideas for that. Regards, Jason R. ... View more

For the Business Analyst web app the primary reason for the difference as you noticed is the two different vintages for the reports (Jan. 2019 for the summary and July 2019 for locator). Additionally the Business Locator is aggregating actual business point whereas the Business Summary report is populated from the apportioned underlying block group data which means that generally the numbers will not match up there.  Let me know if you have any additional questions. Regards, Jason R. ... View more