Building Experiences, Not Just Apps: Esri’s “Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Experience Builder”
When Esri launched ArcGIS Experience Builder, it quickly became one of the most flexible tools in the geospatial ecosystem. By allowing users to configure interactive, mobile-ready applications without writing a single line of code, it democratised web app development for organisations working with geographic information.
Yet, as with many powerful platforms, documentation and tutorials only went so far. What was missing was a practical, structured guide that would help GIS professionals move from experimenting with widgets to creating robust, well-designed, and user-focused apps. That gap is what Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Experience Builder seeks to fill.
I sat down with one of the book’s co-authors, Mike Gaigg, Group UI Engineer at Esri, to learn more about why the title was written, how it differs from Esri’s existing training resources, and why Experience Builder is such a critical tool in today’s ArcGIS ecosystem.
Filling a gap for GIS professionals
When asked what gap in the market the book was designed to address, Gaigg was quick to point out that the feedback from users was consistent:
“Although Esri provides detailed documentation on the widgets themselves, as well as supplemental learning tutorials and other resources, the feedback we hear most often is (paraphrased): ‘show me how you went about doing this’. GIS professionals want to observe how the experts configure this cool app, learn design best practices, and generally confirm that what they are doing is the right way of doing it.”
Esri Press has historically published guides on core technologies such as ArcGIS Pro, but fewer resources for extensions, apps, and industry-specific tools. According to Gaigg, that’s now changing.
“Our users often ask for books on extensions and apps that aren't currently covered in length in our catalogue. So, we are looking to provide those official sources of information to fill long-standing needs from users. And yes, providing more Esri content and instruction on ArcGIS Enterprise has been frequently requested by developers, GIS professionals, and educators.”
In other words, the book is more than a “how-to” manual – it’s part of a broader move by Esri to provide deeper, official learning resources on the full breadth of the ArcGIS platform.
Why “20 essential skills”?
Esri Press has established a format with its Top 20 Essential Skills series, which began with ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online. For Experience Builder, Gaigg and his co-authors followed the same model, but with a distinctive focus on design principles as well as technical configuration.
“We – the authors – come from different backgrounds. Alix is a product engineer with the Experience Builder team, Thomas is a technical writer with a focus on Experience Builder, and I am a Group UI Engineer leading a team of designers in our Professional Services division and collaborating directly with our customers. As a team, we collected questions we’ve heard before and scoured through our community forum and product backlog… One thing that became obvious early on was that there are concepts such as design (layout, alignment, sizing, colours) that are extremely important when creating apps but aren’t explained sufficiently anywhere else. So, we ended up dedicating two chapters almost entirely to design aspects.”
This emphasis on design reflects the reality that building an app isn’t just about functionality – it’s also about user experience. The inclusion of “Best practices for …” sidebars, inline notes, and common pitfalls further distinguishes the book from reference manuals.
A resource for beginners and beyond
So who is the book aimed at? Gaigg is clear that the primary audience is beginners and intermediate users.
“The book is aimed at supporting beginners and intermediate audiences, people that are just getting started or already having some experience. I was surprised though, when one of our most senior and experienced educators approached me at our annual user conference (UC) in San Diego this year, thanking me and telling me that he finished working through the book and had learned a lot. He especially pointed out the numerous little tips and the sidebars with common mistakes and how to avoid them.”
This suggests that even seasoned GIS educators can benefit from the structured approach and subtle design guidance offered in the book.
Beyond documentation: building the “big picture”
One of the challenges with any platform as large as ArcGIS is helping users connect individual tools into a coherent workflow. Documentation describes functions, but doesn’t always convey how they come together in practice. Gaigg uses an everyday analogy to explain the difference:
“I can learn the purpose of a hammer, when and how to use it, but that doesn’t explain how to build a livable house. Our main goal for the book was that by the time you’ve finished working through a chapter, you will have built a meaningful, useful, well-constructed, and good-looking app.”
By positioning Experience Builder as the framework for bringing disparate data sources, widgets, and apps together, the book helps readers step back and think strategically about app design.
Why Experience Builder matters now
ArcGIS itself has evolved over decades, from early desktop mapping software to today’s comprehensive, cloud-enabled platform. Within this ecosystem, Experience Builder now plays a pivotal role.
“The ArcGIS ecosystem is a comprehensive platform for creating, storing, sharing, and analysing geospatial information. Experience Builder has become a key component in the sharing part. Building internal or external (public) facing 2D and 3D map apps without writing a single line of code is powerful.”
For many organisations, this ability to move beyond “one-size-fits-all” apps is transformative.
“In my opinion, having this builder tool is a game changer for many organisations. They are not bound to specialised (ArcGIS Dashboards) or focused (ArcGIS Instant Apps) apps anymore. They can now build apps that suit their unique workflows and look and feel requirements.”
Use cases across industries
While any organisation working with geospatial data can benefit, Gaigg notes that the real power of Experience Builder lies in tailoring apps to user personas.
“Examples of user personas that can be covered more effectively with Experience Builder include:
– Analysts that are interested in complete and comprehensive analytical tools.
– Executives who are interested in strategic performance indicators.
– Subject Matter Experts in need of flexible enterprise apps.
– The public, who want relevant, specific, and instantaneous answers, all in mobile-responsive and workflow-driven apps.”
The flexibility to adapt to such different audiences underscores why Experience Builder is becoming essential across sectors as diverse as urban planning, utilities, environmental management, and emergency response.
Lessons learned: planning before building
One common misconception is that app-building begins by dropping widgets onto a canvas. While this can yield quick results, Gaigg warns it’s not the best long-term approach.
“It’s easy, fast, dare I say fun, and one can see results almost instantly. This approach is a great way to prove functionality and build a quick prototype… But – and that’s one of the key messages the book tries to address – there are good reasons why builders should resist this temptation, take a step back, and spend some time to plan the experience first.”
By dedicating an entire chapter to audience-focused planning, the authors seek to instil a more disciplined approach to app design – one that reduces rework and ensures apps truly meet user needs.
Democratising app-building
The publication of Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Experience Builder also reflects a broader shift in how Esri envisions the future of GIS.
“This shift started long ago when Esri moved from Desktop apps (ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro) to Platform as a Service (PaaS)… Tools like Experience Builder democratise this process and allow non-technical users to configure production-ready apps in less time.”
This trend aligns with the rise of “citizen developers” – business users outside IT departments who can now create tailored solutions without advanced coding knowledge.
A mission to inform, inspire, and teach
Ultimately, the book is part of Esri Press’s wider educational mission.
“As the leader in GIS software, we want to ensure our users have official sources of best practices, and we are aiming to have books for more of our software, apps, and extensions. The mission of Esri Press is to inform, inspire, and teach professionals, students, educators, and the public about geographic information system (GIS) technology by developing print and digital publications. We think this title, the Top 20 series, and all Esri Press titles are helping us achieve this mission.”
For GIS educators, the value of having a market-leading, authoritative resource cannot be overstated. It provides not just confidence in the accuracy of the content, but also a structured pathway for teaching.
Conclusion
With Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Experience Builder, Esri has delivered a guide that goes beyond documentation and tutorials. By blending design best practices, real-world insights, and a structured approach to planning and building, the book helps GIS professionals – from beginners to seasoned educators – get more value from one of the platform’s most versatile tools.
As Gaigg puts it, Experience Builder is not just about creating apps – it’s about creating experiences that resonate with users. And with the ArcGIS ecosystem becoming ever more central to decision-making in government, business, and education, this focus on experience design is both timely and essential.