Case studies. |
A variety of cattle Breed Societies represent their members in New Zealand and advocate for their individual breeds including Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, Ayrshire, Milking Shorthorn, Brown Swiss and Guernsey breeds. Each Society has membership representation in New Zealand and wider representation with their individual world bodies. Each Society maintains their own breed herd book; the data is important around the world for recorded ancestry information particularly in the sale of germ plasm for export from New Zealand.
The Breed Societies and the NZ Dairy Board shared information prior to the 1970’s and were partners in the development of the Dairy Herd Improvement Database. Historically the input of pedigree information into the Database was recognised as a valuable contribution to the database and continues to be so today. As the largest Society, Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) represents the collective NZ Dairy Cattle Breed Societies.
The Breed Societies and the NZ Dairy Board shared information prior to the 1970’s and were partners in the development of the Dairy Herd Improvement Database. Historically the input of pedigree information into the Database was recognised as a valuable contribution to the database and continues to be so today. As the largest Society, Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) represents the collective NZ Dairy Cattle Breed Societies.
THE CHALLENGE.
Breed Society IT solutions and service levels were due to be refreshed; the previous computer solutions were based on aged technology provided through close integration with a commercial entity – Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC). It had been a successful partnership, however with the sector shift and changes in LIC’s goals and vision, the close alignment with the Breed Societies was not sustainable. Furthermore, the Traits Other than Production (TOP) process run by the Societies and handheld data collection units were due for review and replacement.
DairyNZ/NZAEL, who run the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database (DIGAD), were making changes that would result in LIC no longer having all the data that a Breed Society required to complete their current and future functions. The signalled change would result in the DIGAD database becoming the national source of all animal and herd data. After investigation and negotiation, it was agreed that the Breed Societies solution would be hosted within the DIGAD environment, with direct access to the DIGAD databases. The Societies require:
DairyNZ/NZAEL, who run the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database (DIGAD), were making changes that would result in LIC no longer having all the data that a Breed Society required to complete their current and future functions. The signalled change would result in the DIGAD database becoming the national source of all animal and herd data. After investigation and negotiation, it was agreed that the Breed Societies solution would be hosted within the DIGAD environment, with direct access to the DIGAD databases. The Societies require:
- New agreements for accessing herd record provider data.
- New agreements to access core data.
- A solution to access and store the DIGAD and data specific to Breed Societies.
HOW WE HELPED.
Resolution8 were involved from inception of this project, initially documenting the Breed Society requirements. Running the RFT process identified a suitable vendor to provide the selected IT solution. Resolution8’s Project Delivery Team supported the development and then continued to oversee and manage the implementation of the new BreedIT solution.
Critical good practice artefacts for this project included:
The high level of consultation and communication with stakeholder groups, such as the software development suppliers, Breed Societies, and commercial enterprises such as LIC, DairyNZ and CRV was executed exceptionally well, and the project has been considered a success with ongoing benefits to the industry.
Critical good practice artefacts for this project included:
- Stakeholder mapping, communication and change collateral for use by HFNZ.
- Detailed project planning
- Development of Terms of Reference, Data Sharing Agreements, Vision and Strategy documents
- Detailed technology system requirements
- Detailed solution implementation plans including test plans, test scripts and UAT testing, to ensure the third party software was rigorously tested against requirements on behalf of the client.
The high level of consultation and communication with stakeholder groups, such as the software development suppliers, Breed Societies, and commercial enterprises such as LIC, DairyNZ and CRV was executed exceptionally well, and the project has been considered a success with ongoing benefits to the industry.