In the points of interest (POI) search workflow, point data aggregation summarizes point data to a site, standard geography, or hexagon.
The point data is aggregated to the selected geography style and represented as color-coded polygons. Each polygon represents the site or level of detail. The results appear immediately on the map and in the Results pane. The point data aggregation is not saved as part of the points of interest (POI) search layer.
Example
Use POI search to map hospitals in Colorado. Enable aggregation to summarize the individual points of interest (in this case, hospitals) as color-coded counties. As you can see in the example below, the color-coded counties provide an enriched context to understanding which county has the most hospitals.
Results
Aggregation is available in the POI search workflow. This workflow shows the results of the analysis on a map layer and in the Results pane.
To set preferences, such as setting color defaults and choosing classification methods, see Map points of interest.
Calculations
To define the point data aggregation, you must do the following:
- Select a geography style (such as a site, standard geography, or hexagon) and choose a level of detail.
- Choose an attribute such as the number of points, employee count, or sales volume.
- Depending on the attribute you choose, select the calculation type such as count, average, sum, minimum, or maximum.
Geography
When you enable aggregation, you must select the geography type for the aggregation using a site, standard geography, or hexagon.
- Use a site to study the point data for a specific location.
- Use a standard geography when you have a specific level of detail for your analysis, such as using ZIP codes or counties.
- Use a hexagon to see patterns in data distribution and where points of interest are more or less dense.
For the geography and hexagon options, you must additionally select the level of detail. For example, you might choose standard geographies with ZIP codes as the level of detail; or you might choose hexagons with resolution 2 as the level of detail.
When you start the points of interest search workflow, you set an area of interest to map places. If you enable aggregation, you need to choose the level of detail to group your points into standard geographies, hexagons, or sites within that area of interest.
Attribute selection
Aggregation uses calculations to summarize the point data. You can customize the calculation by choosing an attribute and calculation type. The options include the following:
| Attribute | Definition | Calculation type options | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
Number of points (default) | This is the total number of points in an area's level of detail. | For this attribute, the only calculation type available is count. | Use this attribute when you are summarizing the total number of places in an area. |
Employee count (for the Data Axle data source only) | The employee count is the number of employees for a business location. | You can use the employee count average, sum, count, minimum, or maximum. By default, this attribute uses count as the calculation type. |
Use this attribute when you are analyzing employment at places in an area. |
Sales volume (for the Data Axle data source only) | The sales volume represents estimated sales revenue or assets in dollars. | You can use the sales volume average, sum, count, minimum, or maximum. By default, this attribute uses average as the calculation type. | Use this attribute to understand how much revenue the places make in an area. |
Calculation type
For the employee count and sales volume attributes, you can select a calculation type. By default, both attributes use the average to calculate aggregation.
| Calculation type | Definition | Example: Employee count | Example: Sales volume |
|---|---|---|---|
Average | The mean (or average) is calculated by summing all values and dividing that sum by the number of values. It gives a central point of the data. | Use the average employee count to see how many people typically work at the businesses in an area. | Use the average sales volume to see the typical revenue for businesses in an area. |
Sum | The sum is the total of all values when added together. | Use the employee count sum to see the total number of people employed by businesses in an area. | Use the sales volume sum to see the total revenue of businesses in an area. |
Minimum | The minimum is the smallest value in the data. | Use the minimum employee count to see which area has a location with the lowest number of employees. | Use the minimum sales volume to analyze the lowest revenue for a location in an area. |
Maximum | The maximum is the largest value in the data. | Use the maximum employee count to see which area has a location with the greatest number of employees. | Use the maximum sales volume to analyze the highest revenue for a location in an area. |
Count | The count is the estimated total number of points in the area. | Use the employee count to see how many locations in an area have employment data. | Use the sales volume count to see how many locations in an area have revenue data. |
Limitations
The employee count and sales volume attributes are only available if you are using the Data Axle data source.
The point data aggregation is not saved as part of the POI search layer.
Credits
The points of interest (POI) search workflow consumes credits. See Credits for full information about credit consumption in Business Analyst Web App.
Resources
To learn more about using aggregation, see Map points of interest.