Run benchmark comparisons

The benchmark comparisons workflow compares sites using criteria and benchmark values that you define. First, select sites to include in the analysis, and then choose variables and set a benchmark for comparison. The workflow compares your sites—displayed as color-coded symbols on the map—and adjusts the analysis as you change the comparison method or benchmark value. The results of this analysis appear in the Results pane and can be saved as a new layer in your project or exported to an Excel worksheet.

Benchmark comparisons is a guided workflow that takes you through each step: select sites, select criteria, set the benchmark, choose a comparison method, and view and refine your results. For more information on the calculations, methodology, and results of the benchmark comparisons workflow, see Benchmark comparisons reference.

To run benchmark comparisons, do the following:

1. On the Maps tab, click Run analysis and select Benchmark comparisons.

   The Benchmark comparisons pane appears.

2. Select a location type. Choose to add any of the following:
   • Click Your sites to use points, polygons, or geographies from your project.
     • Use the Add sites window to select from recently used sites, sites currently on the map, sites from any project, or neighboring geographies. Click Apply. Confirm your selections by unchecking the check boxes next to sites you do not want to include in the analysis. Click Add sites to include additional sites.
   • Click Features on the map to choose sites in the project or features on the map.
     • Use the Select sites pane to select from sites currently on the map or sites from the project. Confirm your selections by unchecking the check boxes next to sites you do not want to include in the analysis. Click Add sites to include additional sites.
   • Click Geographies or hexagons to use your country's standard geographic regions (such as states, counties, and ZIP codes) or hexagons.
     • Use the Analysis extent search field to define the extent of the analysis by searching for a standard geography. Selecting a standard geography locks the analysis extent to that area.

       Note:

       Set the analysis extent to the area on the map you want to analyze. For example, to analyze all the counties in Texas, set the state of Texas as the analysis extent.

     • If you selected the Geographies tab, use the Level of detail drop-down menu to specify the geography level of the analysis. If you are using U.S. or Esri India data sources, click the Group menu and select a list of grouped geographies (such as census geographies or school district geographies) and choose a geography level to map.
     • To refine the level of detail for either geography style, use the Level of detail drop-down menu to specify the geography level or hexagon resolution. For more information on hexagons, including hexagon resolutions, see Hexagons reference.
     • Click View glossary to read definitions for each geographic level. The glossary is only available for U.S. data sources.

   Note:

   You can modify the geography settings at any time in the Geography section.

3. Once you have selected the sites for the analysis, click Next.
4. Select variables for the analysis from the following options. To view the variables included in a list, click the List button .
   • Featured lists—This tab displays a set of curated variable lists, including variable lists by industry.
   • My lists—This tab displays variable lists that you created, including variable lists from your previous comparison reports. For these lists, the Share list, Edit list, and Delete list options are also available.
   • Shared lists—This tab displays variable lists that are shared with you, including variable lists from your previous comparison reports.

   • Browse all variables—Open the data browser to search variables or browse by category.

   Once you have selected variables, the results are displayed on the map and in the Results pane.

5. If you are using sites, use the Sites section to do any of the following:
   • Click Sites to open the Add sites pane. Add, remove, or change the site selections.
   • Use the Expand rings, drive times, and walk times toggle button.
6. In the Variables section, click the variable list name to open the data browser and add or remove variables from the analysis.
7. In the Statistics section, use the toggle buttons to enable statistical measures.

   The statistical measures are automatically added to the Results pane table.

   The statistical measures include Average, Median, and Standard deviation.

   Note:

   If you add average or median, it can be used as the benchmark in the Above and below benchmark comparison method.

8. In the Comparison method section, use the Method drop-down menu to select from the following:
   • None—No indicators are displayed.
   • High to low—This option uses color-coding to display the range of values from highest to lowest.
   • Top and bottom—This option highlights the top and bottom ranked values. Choose either the Rank or Percentile option and define the Bottom and Top values.
   • Above and below benchmark—This option uses color-coding to indicate if a value is above or below the benchmark. Use the Benchmark drop-down menu to select a benchmark for comparison. Choose either the Percentage or Raw values option as a difference type.
   • Quantiles—This option groups the values by quantile. By default, this option uses four quantiles, or you can set the number of quantiles. The minimum number of quantiles is two, and the maximum number of quantiles is ten.
   • Highlight extremes—This option highlights values that are defined as extremes, or outliers. Choose either the IQR (interquantile range) or Standard deviation (SD) option to determine how a value is defined as an extreme. If you use standard deviation, you can change the Less than and Greater than values.

   Changes made appear immediately on the map and in the Results pane table. See the Comparison method section below for more information.

9. In the Style section, do any of the following to stylize the benchmark comparison:
   • Use the Color ramp drop-down menu to choose a color ramp.
   • Click Reverse order to change the direction of the color ramp.
   • Use the Map variable drop-down menu to choose which variable to display on the map.
   • Click Show map style options. In the Fill section, use the Transparency slider to change the transparency of the fill style or enter a transparency percentage. In the Outline section, use the Color drop-down menu to choose the outline color. Increase or decrease the Width value of the outline. Use the Transparency slider to change the transparency of the fill style or enter a transparency percentage.
   • If you are using the Above or below benchmark comparison method, click Show map style options for additional benchmark outline styling. In the Benchmark outline section, use the Color drop-down menu to choose the outline color. Increase or decrease the Width value of the outline. Use the Transparency slider to change the transparency of the fill style or enter a transparency percentage.
10. In the Results pane, explore the benchmark comparisons as a summary, histogram, bubble chart, and table.

    See the Explore the results section below for more information.

11. To save your benchmark comparisons layer, click Save layer, give your layer a name, and click OK.

    Benchmark comparison layers are stored in the project pane, under Benchmark comparisons layers. To reopen the benchmark comparisons for editing, click the layer's Action menu and choose Open benchmark comparisons.

Explore the results

The benchmark comparisons results are displayed in the Results pane. To hide the pane, click Collapse . To expand the pane to cover the map, click Expand .

To learn about the underlying calculations, see Results pane reference.

Explore the Results pane by doing any of the following:

1. On the Table tab, view the results in a table. (The Table appears by default in the Results pane.) To explore the table, do any of the following:
   • Depending on the comparison method, items in the table include color-coded labels that match the map styling.
   • Click Export to Excel to export the data from the suitability analysis to an Excel worksheet.
   • Use the Rows per page drop-down menu to change the number of rows displayed in the table. Click Next or Back to navigate the table pages.
   • Click the Options button on a site and do any of the following:
     • Click Make benchmark to make that site or statistical measure the benchmark value. This is automatically used in the Above and below benchmark comparison method.
     • Click Compare with geographies to open the Geography comparison window. Do any of the following:
       • You can change the geography levels displayed by clicking Geography levels and selecting or deselecting options.
       • To change the variables used, click Variables and browse the data browser.
       • Click Export to Excel to export the data from the comparison to an Excel worksheet.
       • To close the Geography comparison window, either click OK or Close .
     • Click Remove location to delete a site from the analysis. Click OK or Cancel.
     • Click Replace location to open the Add sites pane and select a new site.
2. Click Summary to view a summary of the results.
   • Use the Variable drop-down menu to select a variable to use in the box plot.
   • Click Next to see a summary of the key statistics of the analysis, such as average, median, skewness, and kurtosis.
   • To learn more about these key statistics, click IQR, Skewness, or Kurtosis and read the definitions in the Overview of statistics window.
   • Hover over an item in the box plot and the corresponding area is highlighted on the map.
3. Click Histogram to view the results for each variable in a histogram. To explore the histogram, do any of the following:
   • By default, the Chart settings pane is expanded. To close it, click the Close button . To expand it, click the Chart settings button . To modify the chart settings, do any of the following:
     • Use the Criterion drop-down menu to choose the variable shown in the histogram.
     • Use the Show outliers toggle button to show and hide outliers on the chart.
     • In the Outlier calculation section, choose either the Percentage or Standard deviation option to display in the histogram. Optionally, for Percentage, change the Top & bottom percentage value. Optionally, for Standard deviation, change the +/- standard deviation value.
   • Hover over an item in the histogram and the corresponding area is highlighted on the map.
4. Click Bubble chart to view the results as a bubble chart or scatterplot. To explore the bubble chart or scatterplot, do any of the following:
   • By default, the Chart settings pane is expanded. To close it, click the Close button . To expand it, click the Chart settings button . To modify the chart settings, do any of the following:
     • Use the Bubble chart and Scatterplot tabs to switch between chart styles.
     • Use the X-axis, Y-axis, and Dot size drop-down menus to choose the variables used in the chart.
     • Click the Show regression line toggle button to turn the regression line on or off.
   • Hover over an item in the bubble chart or scatterplot to highlight the corresponding site on the map.
   • Hover over the bubble chart or scatterplot and zoom in, zoom out, or pan using the mouse. Hover over a bubble to view information about the location and its linear regression. Hover over the regression line to view information about the linear regression and coefficient of determination. Click Reset to reset the chart extent.
5. Optionally, if you are using hexagons, click the Hexagon label drop-down menu and pick from the following options:
   • Use the Cell ID option to label the hexagons with their cell ID number.
   • Use the geography option to label the hexagons with the name associated with its standard geography at that level of detail. This option automatically adjusts with the hexagon resolution.

     Note:

     For instance, if you are using resolution 2 hexagons in your analysis, use the State option to label the hexagons with the name of their associated state. If you are using resolution 7 hexagons in your analysis, use the ZIP Code option to label the hexagons with the name of their associated ZIP code.

   • Use the Detailed option to label the hexagons with both their cell ID number and associated geography.

   Note:

   The Hexagon label drop-down menu is not available on the Table .

Comparison methods

The Comparison method section provides options to use for color-coding or grouping the values in the benchmark comparisons for analysis. The comparison methods are described below.

Comparison method	Description
High to low	This option uses color-coding to display the range of values from highest to lowest.
Top and bottom	This option highlights the top and bottom ranked values. It uses either Rank or Percentile, and you can define the Bottom value and Top value.
Above and below benchmark	This option uses color-coding to indicate if a value is above or below the benchmark. You can select a benchmark and set the difference type as either Percentage or Raw value.
Quantiles	This option groups the values by quantile. By default, this option uses four quantiles. You can set the number of quantiles. The minimum number of quantiles is two, and the maximum number of quantiles is ten.
Highlight extremes	This option highlights values that are defined as extremes, or outliers. Choose either IQR (interquantile range) or Standard deviation (SD) to determine how a value is defined as an extreme. If you use SD, input Less than and Greater than values. IQR measures the spread of data using the difference between the 75th and 25th percentiles of the data. The outliers of the data are outside of the IQR range. Standard deviation is the measure of how much variation exists in a variable or attribute, compared to its mean. Increasing the standard deviation represents an increase in variation to the mean, and therefore, a greater range of data points. Decreasing the standard deviation represents a decrease in variation to the mean, which narrows the data points used and may be more accurate.

Set preferences

You can set preferences for Business Analyst Web App in the application preferences. For comparison reports, you can specify preferences for the colors used to depict comparisons and the geography levels compared. Administrators can set preferences for the entire organization.

To set the workflow preferences, do the following:

1. On the app header, click My preferences .

   The Preferences window appears.

2. Expand the Maps section, expand the Run analysis section, and click Benchmark comparisons.
3. Set the following preferences:
   • In the Featured lists section, check or uncheck the featured lists to display in the workflow pane.
   • In the Outline section, use the Color drop-down menu to select an outline color. Set the Width of the outline. Use the Transparency slider to adjust the color transparency.
   • In the Benchmark outline section, use the Color drop-down menu to select a benchmark outline color. Set the Width of the benchmark outline. Use the Transparency slider to adjust the color transparency.
   • In the Comparison method section, use the drop-down menu to select a default comparison method.
4. Optionally, restore the default settings by clicking Restore defaults.
5. To save your changes, click Save, or, optionally, click Save and close to close the Preferences window. To view your changes, refresh the app.