UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXASDepartment of Geography

GEOG 4220/5220: Applied Retail Geography

Applied Assignment #1

In this first applied assignment, we will use the Alteryx software package to introduce some capabilities of geographic information systems as they can be used to assist geographers in assessing markets and locations for retail business. This first assignment focuses on how Alteryx helps in carrying out a regional market analysis and assessment for a large service chain.

In the exercise below, you will analyze geographic markets using detailed business and geographic datasets along with the Alteryx software. Your overall goal with this analysis: to assess the coverage of a large service chain’s existing locations, and to identify possible markets and locations for expansion.

The scenario: you are a market analyst for Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store, a chain operating in Oklahoma and neighboring states. Braum’s is a family-owned and operated chain of fast-food restaurants and grocery stores based in Oklahoma City, with a particular focus on dairy products. Your task is to assist Braum’s in assessing its markets, store locations, and the opportunities it may have for expansion or revision of its existing geographic footprint. The steps below will help you to use the Alteryx software package to provide Braum’s with some of the key information it needs.

Part 1: Basic Analysis of Braum’s Locations and Markets1. Open and enter Alteryx by double-clicking on the Alteryx icon located on your desktop.

This should lead you to a screen that looks something like this:

1

Alteryx Icon

2. Click the “OPEN” button at the top left corner of your screen (it is the icon that looks like a small folder). Now select the “Braums1.yxmd” file from the R:\4220\Applied Assignments\Applied Assignment 1 directory.

3. Your screen should now contain a graphic that looks like the screenshot below. The area housing the icons you see is known as the “Module Window”. The module window is the work area space where an Alteryx “module” is built. A module is a collection of tools that are put together to analyze a dataset and produce useful output (maps, tables, charts). Alteryx uses a set of tools arranged into several categories in the ToolBox, including Favorites, Input/Output, Basic, Calculation, Join, Utility, Spatial, Report/Presentation, Allocate, Address, Macros, Calgary, and All Tools. Each tool within each of these categories has a specific function and allows the user to construct Alteryx modules in many unique ways.

2

4. Let’s get familiar with some of the tools. Move your mouse over the “CASS” tool located in the module window. You will notice that when you do this, the name of the tool will appear. In this case “CASS (5)” pops up (as in the screen shot below).

Next, move your mouse over the other icons in the module window to see what they are.

5. When you’ve “moused over” all of the icons, you will notice that there are a total of 8 tools that are part of the design for this module: Input, CASS, Sort, Street Geocoder, Filter, Browse, Map, and Render.

6. Let’s have a quick look at how each of these tools function.

Input tool: opens the source data to be used in an analysis. It can be used as a starting point for any project in Alteryx.

CASS tool: takes the input address file and checks it against the USPS (United States Postal Service) coding accuracy support system.

Sort tool: arranges the records in a table in alphanumeric order, based on the values of the specified data field.

Street Geocoder tool: associates geographic coordinates with input addresses, letting you pinpoint locations and carry out geography-based analyses.

Filter tool: queries records in your file to meet specified criteria. The tool creates two outputs, True and False. “True” is the condition when the data met the criteria you specify, while “False” is the condition when the specified criteria are not met.Browse tool: offers complete views of underlying data within an Alteryx module. It is used to view a dataset (or part of a dataset) anywhere within a module stream.

Map tool: enables the user to create a map image from within the portfolio Alteryx GUI (Geographic User Interface).

Render tool: transforms report snippets into presentation-quality reports in PDF, HTML, XLSX, DOCX, RTF and Portfolio Composer (*.pcxml).

Now that we know what each of these tools does we can run the module and determine our output.

3

7. To run the module, you need to click on the blue arrow button in the toolbar at the top left of your screen.

8. While running the module you may get a pop up window from the Street Geocoder tool that tells you a particular address “matches multiple results” (this is not unusual). If this occurs, click the “First To All” button located at the bottom of the pop-up window.

9. Click the “OK” button on the “Finished running Braums1.yxmd” pop-up box (don’t worry about the number of seconds it takes to run the module).

4

Run Module Button

“First To All” Button

10. Now, at the bottom right hand corner of your screen, there should be a grey box entitled “Output”. The box should look similar to the screenshot below. The Output box is the place where you see what your module has done once it has run. Looking at the results, the “Input (1)” row tells us that 279 records were read in. This indicates that there were 279 records in our data set (or, in practical terms, 279 Braum’s locations). If we go down further and look at the “CASS (5)” row, it tells us that 95.0% of our addresses were coded successfully. If we go down further to the “Filter (14)” row, here we see that 273 records were True (coded or found successfully) and 7 were False (coded unsuccessfully, or not found).

We won’t worry about the locations not found for this lab, although in a real-world application we would solve this problem (starting with the “Browse (17)” output row).

11. Our last step is to find the row entitled “Render (23)”. Notice that next to this row is a PDF file link highlighted in blue. Click on this file link to open it and view the output information. Doing this brings up a PDF map of the 273 Braum’s locations that Alteryx was able to match. Save this PDF file on your flash drive or other disk you have.

____________________________

After you’ve completed all of these steps, please take some time to consider and respond to the two questions below on part 1 of this assignment:

Question 1.1: After reviewing the Braum’s location map, what can you tell about the geographic distribution of the locations Braum’s has selected: are the markets Braum’s has selected primarily located in major cities, rural locations, or a mixture of both? What else can you observe from this map?

Question 1.2: Based on what you see in the map, and if you had to speculate, what kind of growth strategy (or strategies) does Braum’s follow when identifying new locations? What reasons do you have for what you say? Explain your reasoning fully.

Note: Please save a copy of the Braum’s PDF Map that you have generated, so you can turn this map in with your question responses (see instructions at the very end of this assignment handout). Make sure you save your map on a flash drive or other disk you provide, not on the hard drive of the computer you are using in the lab (so you have a copy you can take with you).

5

Part 2: Joint Analysis of Braum’s and Competitor LocationsNow that you have an understanding of some of the basic tools provided by Alteryx, part 2 of this assignment asks you to construct your own Alteryx module. Your scenario: over the next year, Braum’s would like to expand into new markets. Braum’s has a single distribution center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. All Braum’s store locations receive their supplies from this single distribution center. Due to product transportation considerations, only markets in States where Braum’s is currently located are viable options for expansion (Oklahoma, North Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas). In addition, the company’s management has made the decision that they want expansion efforts to take place in locations where Dairy Queen (Braum’s largest competitor) has a low market presence (in terms of store locations). As a result, the first step in putting together a cohesive expansion plan will be to determine where Dairy Queen is currently located in Braum’s viable region for expansion (as defined above). To do this, this second part of the assignment guides you through the construction of a module that produces a map of Dairy Queen’s store locations in Braum’s viable expansion region.

1. To begin this analysis, you need to start a new Alteryx module. From the far left of the Alteryx toolbar, click on the “New Blank Module” button.

2. The module created for part 1 of this assignment (that was simply given to you) provides a model for the module you need to create on your own now. Thinking back to the module from part 1, the first tool we will need to incorporate into our new module will be the Input tool. Go to the Toolbox located on the left hand side of your screen. Click on the “favorites” tab and select the input tool and drag it into the center of the new module window:

6

“New Blank Module” Button

Drag the “input” tool to the “new module” window

3. Next, you need add the data file details to the input tool. You need to add these details because the input tool does not have any information to start on what file you want to read from, or how you want to read from the file. For this part of the assignment, you are going to use an Excel file named “Dairy_Queen_Data.xls” to read in address information on Dairy Queen’s existing locations. To point the input tool to read from this Dairy Queen file, select the “Input” icon by clicking once on the input icon in the module window. Then, go over to the properties box (named “Properties – Input”). Inside this properties box, at the far right of the box, you will find the “Open File” button. Click on this “Open File” button.

4. In the “Open a Data File” window that pops up, go to the R:\4220\Applied Assignments\Applied Assignment 1 directory and select the Excel file named “Dairy_Queen_Data.xls”, then click the “Open” button.

7

“Open File” Button

The “Choose Table or Specify Query” pop up window will then open – select “DairyQueen$” and click the “OK” button.

5. You should now notice in the preview section of your properties box that all of the information that was in the Excel document has been read in by the input tool. Check to verify that your information is similar to the screenshot below.

8

6. Next, you need to add the CASS tool to the module window. As we learned earlier, this tool checks the address data for accuracy. To add this tool to the module, go back to the toolbox and click on the tab that says “Address”, as in the graphic below:

Once you’ve clicked on the Address tab, you will see that a list of address-related tools appears, as in this graphic:

From this address tool list, select the CASS tool (first on the list) and drag it over to the module window just below your input icon (see the graphic on the following page). You will notice that Alteryx automatically links the existing Input icon to your new CASS icon. If it does not automatically link the two together, you can simply click on the green arrow at the bottom of the Input icon and drag your cursor to the arrow at the top of CASS icon and the two will be linked to together (but you shouldn’t have to do this). The module should now look something like the screen graphic at the top of the following page.

9

Address-related tools

7. You may find that the new CASS icon has a red box around it with a line going through it (as in the graphic above). If you click on the “Messages” option (as on the right side of the graphic above), you should see that it says that “The Address Field is Required”. This means that we need to populate the address fields for the CASS tool to function correctly. To do this:

a. Click on the “Configuration” option (look above the Messages option – “Configuration” is the first option available in the properties box).

b. Populate the required fields by using the drop down arrows provided for each field. Leave “Urbanization Field” and “Address 2 Field” as “None”.

Company Field: CorporationAddress Field: AddressCity Field: CityState/Province: StateZip/PC Field: Zip

Once you have completed these steps, the CASS properties box should look similar to the graphic below:

10

CASS tool

Input tool Messages option

8. Now that the required fields are populated correctly, move your mouse back over to the module window and left click anywhere in the module window, but not on the either of the icons you now have. You will notice that the red box around the CASS icon is gone. This indicates that the CASS tool has been set up correctly, and that you are ready to go to the next step.

9. Now, you need to add the Sort tool to the module window and link it to the CASS tool. The sort tool allows us to sort our database to make it easier to work with. In this case, we will sort our database by zip code.

To add the sort tool, go over to the toolbox and find and click on the tab called “Utility” (as in the graphic below):

Once you’ve clicked on “Utility” to select it, select the sort tool from the utility tool list, and drag it just below the CASS icon in window module (as in the graphic at the top of the following page). As with the CASS tool, we will also need to do some set up on the sort tool for it to run correctly.

11

To set-up the sort tool, click on the “Sort” icon in the module window and select “Configuration” in the properties-sort box (as in the graphic below). Then, select “CASS_Zip” from the “Name” drop down box and make sure that “Ascending” is selected under the “Order” drop down box. Similar to before, when you now left click in the module window, but not on any icon, you will notice that the red box with the line running across it has disappeared from the “Sort” icon. The sort is now set up.

10. Next, you need to add the Street Geocoder tool to the module window. The street geocoder makes it possible to locate addresses from a database on a geographic map.

To add the street geocoder, go back to the toolbox and find and select the “Address” tool tab. Then, select the “Street Geocoder” and drag it over to the module window just below your Sort icon. Make sure the “Street Geocoder” is connected to your Sort icon via an arrow. Your module window should now look like the screenshot below, with the four icons you have now added:

You’re well on your way to creating your own Alteryx module! Let’s keep going.

12

Input Tool

CASS Tool

Sort Tool

Street Geocoder Tool

11. Now, add the Filter tool to our module window. To do this, go back over to the toolbox and select the Favorites tab and find the “Filter” tool from the drop down menu and move it into module window just below the Street Geocoder icon. You will notice that once again a red box with a line running across it appears around your Filter icon and the messages option in your properties box is red again.

To set-up the Filter tool correctly you need click on the “Filter” icon in the module window and in the properties-filter box you are going to the variables tab and in the variables tab window you are going to click the plus (+) sign next to the Fields option and then double click the “GeoLevel” option (second from the bottom) from the list. Notice that “GeoLevel” has automatically populated in the expressions window below.

13

12. Next, select the Functions tab in the properties filter and click the plus (+) sign next to the Operators option and then double click “Equal To = =”. You are then going to type in the word street with quotations around it (“street”) and hit the spacebar once and type the word (or) and hit the spacebar one more time. Check to make sure your expression box looks like the one below.

13. Next, add a “GeoLevel” variable and another “equals to = =” function to the expression. Just as we did before, click the variables tab and in the variables tab window you are going to click the plus (+) sign next to the Fields option and then double click the “GeoLevel” option (second from the bottom) from the list. Next, select the Functions tab and click the plus (+) sign next to the Operators option and double click “Equal To = =”. Type in the word intersection with quotations around it (“intersection”). When you’ve done this, confirm that your expression now looks like the one below:

You can then move your mouse into the module window and left click on the Filter tool. Notice that the red box with the line running across it has disappeared from the “Filter” icon, indicating that your Filter tool is now set up correctly.

14

Step 2Step 1

Step 3

14. Now we are going to add the “Map” tool to the window module. This tool can be found under the spatial tab in the toolbox. Drag the “Map” tool from the tool box and place it in the module window below the “T” (True) side of the Filter icon. Make sure the “Map” icon connects to the “T” side of the Filter icon (placing the map tool here maps those addresses that were successfully geocoded). After you’ve done this, go over to the Properties-Map box on the right hand side of your screen. Select the dropdown arrow for the “Reference Base Map” option and select “StreetWare US Q1 2011”. You might find a later version of this file when you do the lab – such as “StreetWare US Q3 2011” or later. Use whatever version that you have – it will be the latest and best one available.

15. Next you need to add the “Browse” tool to the module window. The browse tool allows you to examine the addresses that did not map correctly. To add this, select the favorites tab from the toolbox menu and click and drag the “Browse” tool below the “F” (false) side of the Filter icon. Again, make sure the “Browse” icon is connected to the “F” side of the Filter icon. Your module window should now look like the screenshot below.

15

Browse ToolMap Tool

16. We are almost done! Our last task is to add a map creation capability to the module (the previous “map” tool assembles a map of our data internally in Alteryx, but we need to take an extra step now to make the map accessible to a viewer, such as through a PDF or other file). To do complete this map creation, we need to add the “Render” tool to the module window, as in the screenshot below. Select the Input/Output tab from the toolbox drop down menu and click and drag the “Render” tool below the Map icon in your module window. Make sure the “Render” icon is connected to the Map icon by an arrow, again as in the screenshot below.

17. The final step is to run the module and view the results. Remembering from before, to run the module you need to click on the blue arrow button located on the toolbar at the top left hand side of your screen. Go ahead and run the module and remember that while running the module you may get a pop up window from the Street Geocoder tool that tells you a particular address matches multiple results. If this occurs, click the “First To All” button located at the bottom of the pop-up window. Click the OK button once the module is done running, and review the information in the Output box at the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Also, remember to open up the PDF that the module generated (the “render” row of the output window) to review the locations of the Dairy Queen stores in the region.

When you’ve done all this, your display should look like the screen on the next page.

16

____________________________

After you’ve completed all of these steps, please take some time to consider and respond to the questions below and on the next page (four questions in total for this part of the assignment):

Question 2.1: What does the information in the “Output box” tell us about the data file we used for our Dairy Queen locations? Refer back to the guidance given in step 10 of part 1 of this lab to help you answer this question.

Question 2.2: After reviewing the PDF file, what can you tell about the locations Dairy Queen has selected: are they primarily located in major cities, rural locations, or a mixture of both? Is there anything else you can say to help describe DQ’s locations?

Question 2.3: Compare the Braum’s store location map to the Dairy Queen store location map (print or pull the maps up on the screen side by side). Based on the evidence you have in front of you, what locations (Cities/Towns) within the region could you recommend for Braum’s expansion? Why those locations? Are there any locations (cities or towns) that you would recommend that Braum’s should avoiding expanding into? Why?

17

Question 2.4: Outside of the competition analysis you’ve done for this lab, are there any other factors you can think of that could help Braum’s choose expansion locations? In other words, can you think of any other databases you think would be useful to include in a further analysis?

Note: Please save a copy of the Dairy Queen PDF Map that you have generated, so you can turn this map in with your question responses. Make sure you save your map on a flash drive or other disk you provide, not on the hard drive of the computer you are using in the lab (so you have a copy you can take with you).

When convenient in the next few days, please e-mail the map PDF files for both part 1 and part 2 to me at rice@unt.edu (use the following for your e-mail subject: “Your last name”, “Retail Assignment #1 Maps” – for example, “Jones, Retail Assignment #1 Maps”). Attach the two PDF files to your e-mail.

In addition, please hand in your answers to all questions in this assignment (parts 1 and 2) in paper form. Please include the question number with each question you answer:

Question 1.1. Answer to question 1.1 …

Question 1.2. Answer to question 1.2 …

etc.

Please note that all assignment materials are due to me by the applied assignment #1 due date specified in the course schedule from your syllabus.

18