Jacob Preal
Enterprise GIS Specialist
Introduction
Data collection in the field can be stressful when dealing with the unpredictable environments and weather conditions field crews may encounter. With traditional clipboards and paper, any number of mistakes can be made – and transferring this data into a digital system is not only duplicative, it can also be a challenge. ArcGIS Field Maps provides users with the ability to streamline data collection and ensure quality data is being collected in the field. Field Maps Designer can make your Web Map mobile-ready to enable quick data input and easy location-based map navigation. The best part is that all data collected automatically becomes available in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise.
With a form-like interface, ArcGIS Field Maps Designer is fully customizable, with the ability to pull in attribute values in titles and configure ArcGIS Arcade Expressions for automatically calculating field entries.
Setting up for success
While it may be tempting to put something together and start collecting data right away, spending time upfront planning out what your data will be used for and who will be using it can be beneficial in the long run. What type of data is being collected? What should the end product look like? From start to finish, it is important to consider all the possible features and attributes field crews should be collecting.
Often, field crews are expected to collect data on authoritative datasets. To prevent this data from being accidentally deleted or otherwise modified, it is best practice to create related records for inspections. This way, each time data is collected, field crews create new inspections for existing data, ensuring they are only updating required fields and not altering any authoritative data. Relationship classes can facilitate this by creating them in ArcGIS Pro, prior to publishing a layer to ArcGIS Online.
Once your relationship class is set up, don’t forget to set domains wherever possible. Once inside Field Maps Designer, domains can behave as either simple dropdowns or buttons for field crews to choose from. This will significantly reduce the likelihood of data being entered incorrectly and will ensure that only the information that you want to collect is actually gathered properly in the field.
Configurations set by Field Maps Designer in the office can be seen by workers out in the field. Identifying values like inspector email and inspection date can be calculated without any user input, allowing field crews to focus only on the data they need to collect.
Field Maps Designer Options
Field Maps Designer can be accessed from the item page of any web map in ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS, version 10.8.1 and later. This tool can be used to create a form-like interface for any feature layers and related tables. In this particular case, choosing “Forms” and then the related table in the “Tables” section will bring up a template that can easily be modified by dragging and dropping fields into the form layout. Fields can even be grouped together.
Manually inputting data across multiple fields can take time and effort. Fortunately, Field Maps allows for auto-calculating fields using ArcGIS Arcade. For example, a field can be configured to automatically calculate the name of the field crew member assigned to a specific inspection or to record the exact date and time that the inspection was done. It is also possible to make these calculations entirely situational; Within the framework of ArcGIS Arcade, using the “editType” parameter can ensure that new information is only calculated when a new inspection is being made, not during other operations and edits.
Present Your Data
What can you do with the data once it’s collected? ArcGIS Dashboards are perfect for reviewing and analyzing data as it is collected in real time. Filters and widgets can be configured in such a way that specific facilities or time ranges can be highlighted for analyzing your data over time. ArcGIS Arcade can also be used here to summarize your data and tell the story of your data collected in the field.
ArcGIS Dashboards can help summarize collected data and track the progress of data still being collected in the field.
ArcGIS Field Maps can do everything traditional clipboards and survey sheets can, and more. The ability to auto-populate fields using calculated expressions and to restrict and aid user input helps ensure field crews check the right boxes and input the correct field values. If you or your organization have been on the fence about transitioning to a streamlined approach to collecting field data, now is the perfect time to jump in with ArcGIS Field Maps. Contact our team for help!