Survey123 to Update Layers
ellysse.boughey
Hi folks,
Has anyone used ArcGIS Survey123 as their primary data collection tool and leveraged webhooks to update hosted feature layers? If so, I'd love to hear from you!
- Are you pushing updates to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise?
- Which webhook provider are you using?
- What kind of data are you collecting in Survey123?
- What does your general workflow look like?
- Any lessons learned along the way?
Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.
Thanks,
Ellysse
Ellysse Boughey
Business Intelligence Analyst Lead
Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
111 N. Sanders St. | PO Box 4210 | Helena, MT 59601
ellysse...@mt.gov
Lee Macholz
Ellysse, below is the response that my team member, Mason Lovaas, provided to your questions. He will be out of the office until the 16th of March but he would be available to discuss further when he returns if you would like. His email is lov...@ci.missoula.mt.us
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Here is my rushed quick and dirty response. Sorry, wanted to say a lot more, especially about workflows, but just didn’t have time. I know I will be gone for two weeks but I would be happy to talk more about this with whoever when I get back.
At the city of Missoula, we have used Survey123 as a data collection method and leveraged webhooks in both AGO and Enterprise. We use Power Automate as that is what we have a license for. I do believe Make (formally Integromat) has limited free workflows and offers connections to AGO at the very least. Power Automates integration with Enterprise requires Enterprise version 11.0 or later.
We have used Survey123 to collect a wide variety of data. Public input, departmental operational data, disaster response, and task tracking are some of the types of data collection we have used Survey123 for.
As far as workflows go that widely varies based on what you are trying to achieve and who the audience is. There are a lot of possible ways to implement workflows with Survey123. They can be simple or complex. A basic workflow would be:
- Design survey
- If using webhooks set up and test desired webhooks
- Set up a dashboard or experience builder to manage or interpret the data submitted
- Delete any test data
- Publish the survey and start collecting data.
This is a very basic bare minimum workflow. A lot of our workflows with the city are generally more complex. Webhooks can be a great tool for automating alerts, updating attributes when there is an update, or even making changes in different feature services based on survey responses.
I will say if you are collecting spatial data Survey123 can be a bit clunky and awkward to use. Sometimes there is no way around that but if using Field Maps, an Instant App, or Experience Builder is an option, I like that way more. You can still use Survey123 to design what data you want collected then add the hosted service created by Survey123 to the appropriate app.
If you are willing to learn how to use Survey123 Connect that provides a way to create very robust surveys that can have a lot more functionality than the web builder offers. The web builder is a great simple way to build basic surveys if that is all you need though.
With AGO when making connections with Survey123 , at least in Power Automate, you need to update the authentication token every 2 weeks. If you don’t then the automations will fail. The ArcGIS connection expires every 90 days if it’s not triggered. If the automation gets triggered, then the 90 day timer restarts.
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Lee Macholz
GIS Manager
City of Missoula
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Jason Danielson
Good morning Ellysse,
Lewis and Clark County/City of Helena GIS Services recently created online address application forms using Survey123 and Microsoft Power Automate. Surveys were created in ArcGIS Online for each application (City, County, East Helena, Plaque), with data hosted as feature services. Fields/data include contact information, address type, location information, and the ability to upload additional required documentation (deeds, certificate of surveys, etc.). Applications also include a mapping component to allow applicants to provide the anticipated location of the structure. We’ve created cloud flows in Microsoft Power Automate to send emails to respective departments when a form has been submitted.
Microsoft Power Automate includes a ‘connector’ to ArcGIS when creating a ‘flow’. When designing a flow to receive an email when a survey response is submitted, the flow recognizes the available surveys. When the flow is saved, the webhook is generated and associated to the respective survey. The webhook is located under the Settings/Webhooks location within Survey123:
We also worked with the Public Works Department to create a ‘Citizen Problem Reporter’ application that utilizes the same technology. Citizens can report non-emergency issues using an interactive map (Instant App). Using Microsoft Power Automate, a (customizable) email is sent to the Public Works Department when a request is submitted.
Online blogs and Esri documentation were both extremely helpful throughout the implementation, including this Esri Survey123 webhooks article (Set up a webhook in Microsoft Power Automate). Like Missoula County, we’ve also encountered token issues between Microsoft Power Automate and Survey123. We’ve been researching some potential workarounds, including this tip from Esri.
It’s also important to note that a Microsoft ‘Power Automate Premium’ plan is required to use connectors ($15/month). Microsoft provided a free trial initially, which was helpful during testing.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Jason
_________________
Jason Danielson, GISP | GIS Analyst
City of Helena/Lewis and Clark County
316 N Park Ave, Helena, MT 59623
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