Share thisTear this article out for your next plane ride or quiet moment with your laptop, and let me show you how to build your own breeding software in a few easy steps.
If you’re lucky, the RFP process is done, the justifications written, the purchase orders approved, the server infrastructure installed, and now you’re only six months away from touching that new breeding software that you purchased. If you’re not so lucky, your budget only has five dollars in it for software, and you’re busting at the seams with founders, litters, and pups. In either case, let me show you how to build your own breeding software in a few easy steps.
Whether you’re paper-based, using Microsoft Excel, or waiting for a more formal animal bioinformatics system, there are some good reasons to go through this exercise. First, it is easy, free, immediate, and educational. I think it is entertaining too, but that is another article. Next, nearly all digital automation, when applied smartly and simply, will offer efficiencies, reporting, mobility, controls, and improved processes – even your home-spun version will give you a return on your investment. Finally, if you are preparing for a larger breeding system, there is no better way than to “get that colony digitized already.” Your future software vendor may also allow you to customize and fine tune your software, and by understanding what’s under the covers, you’ll be doing yourself a favor for sure.
Getting Started
So, what are you waiting for? Grab a laptop, and let’s get going. The first thing you’ll need is the knowledge that your system, being homespun, will not be as nice, fancy, or secure, as the big boys. But it is free and totally yours – this is the ultimate in open source. Seriously, there will be limitations; an entire industry has donated a lifetime to building these systems, and yours will be more home-spun. You will need Microsoft Access, which is a database program that ships with most versions of Microsoft Office. A database is a collection of structured tables and records, which for us means a collection of colonies and animals respectively. This is all stored inside a file that is located somewhere safe, secure, and backed up.
Start a New Database
Follow these steps to get started:
1. Open Microsoft Access by locating the icon (Figure 1), and double clicking it as you would any program. You might have a different version (Access 97, Access 2000, Access 2003, or Access 2007), but it will work the same in all versions.
2. Next, create a new database file (Figure 2). When asked, create a blank database, call it Colony.mdb, and save it somewhere secure. I would advise putting the new file on a server drive because it is secure and usually backed up nightly. I would not store it locally on your PC – unless you’re on an airplane right now.