Marketing tool or “pretty picture”

It was apparent by the second semester of my eighth grade year that Sue Ellen Owens was the smartest student in our class. It was obvious that while our teachers admired her a great deal, she earned her high grades fairly through a combination of rapt concentration in class, innate intelligence, and attention to detail. One of these details was her consistent placement of our English assignments done at home in an attractive binder that distinguished her papers from everyone else and surely caught the attention of the teacher, the rest of the class, and especially me.

I think of Sue Ellen today as I tell the story of the Society for Theriogenology (SFT) computer-generated and online bull breeding soundness evaluation form. I am sure that the English homework she produced in the eighth grade would have scored just as high a grade had she turned them in without a binder, just as surely as my work justified its same sub-Sue Ellen result even when I imitated her technique of presenting my themes in an over-the-top folder my father used to present his engineering work. However, I wonder whether this new form will promote the practice of quality soundness examinations, establish the standards by which bulls should be measured, encourage the use of a common, efficient, recognizable and attractive form that will be embraced by a large number of veterinarians, and provide a method by which measurements can be learned or enhanced, or are we merely providing to the veterinary consuming public the same uneven and substandard work placed in an pretty plastic binder.

Directive to produce the computer-generated breeding soundness evaluation form

The machinations of committee work as told through reports or minutes surpass in boredom a thoughtful reading of the IRS code. From the perspective of the committee itself, however, embarking on modification of the existing breeding soundness evaluation (BSE) form became an adventure that changed from what we thought was a concept of a “fill-in-the-blank” spreadsheet exercise to a full-fledged emersion into the bizarre and mysterious world of program writing. Along the way the committee had long serious discussions on graphic artistry, color combinations, pathology prevalence, confidentiality, keystroke shortcuts, economic impact to the SFT, and the most efficient process in making our wishes known to the programmer.

Dr Richard Hopper, then president of the SFT, gave the directive at the winter meeting of the 2011 SFT board in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to develop a computer-generated BSE form for bulls. Assigned to the committee were Drs John L. Myers, Herris Maxwell, and Will Shultz. Dr Shultz had commissioned a company to design a program for tracking and identification of frozen canine semen and recommended the same company be retained for development of this initiative. Soon thereafter Drs Michael Thompson and Brian Keith Whitlock were added to the committee as well as the SFT executive director Dr Charles Franz.

Between January of 2011 SFT board meeting and the subsequent SFT convention in August of the same year the committee worked to develop a temporary model of the computer-generated BSE to be displayed for comments and suggestions at both the August SFT meeting and later the next month at the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) convention. To describe the product on display at the two conventions as a BSE form would be similar to saying “since a six-grader can read, he’s ready for college.”

Many useful comments were garnered, however, especially at the SFT convention. Perhaps the most useful response from the AABP would have been the general feeling of apathy to any sort of BSE form produced by the SFT because individual clinics and veterinarians developed their own forms separate and distinct from any other entities and not necessarily conforming to standards set by the SFT or any other organization. As an aside, the programmer developing the computer-generated BSE was given money for travel and lodging to attend the AABP convention to hear first hand any comments or suggestions.

Shortly after the AABP convention, progress on the computer-generated BSE form stopped. Through negotiations between the SFT executive director Dr Charles Franz and the programmer’s superior it was decided that either the SFT and the company doing the programming would abandon the project with a full monetary refund, or the company would need a great deal more money to move forward. Through the counsel of Dr Franz, the committee decided to take the refund, sever ties with the programming company, and look elsewhere for help in completing the project. Once again, Dr Will Shultz had a prospect.

The programmer Dr Shultz suggested was David Riedle of Riedle Consulting and he is the person responsible for the form as it now exists. The relationship between Dave and those working on this project has been excellent, and while Dave seems to enjoy working with us we have no idea how he would assess our committee about cooperation, quality of direction, or understanding of the concepts underlying computer programming. From the committee side of the equation, however, we all believe that if it is possible for a computer by means of a program to do anything at all, Dave Reidle can make it happen.

This brings up the seductive sensation experienced by the committee once we began working on the project. We realized that magical feeling that movie makers must experience when they imagine Mark Ruffalo’s muscles enlarging as he turns into the Great Hulk that the seams burst on his clothes as he climbs a building and throws a bus at someone evil. Similarly, we now possessed the possibility that we could design a form that could streamline the process of completion, feature accoutrements that visually enhanced the professionalism and attractiveness of the form, provide for accumulation of a large amount of data, encourage careful and complete examinations of the bulls being tested, and maintain an efficient method of continuing a revenue stream for the SFT.

The committee established priorities that insured the delivery of the features listed above while preventing the allure of making our form turn green and throw buses.

Principles guiding the development of the computer-generated BSE

1. The guidelines and standards previously set by the SFT would be maintained in the new form.
   
2. The computer-generated BSE would not only be easy to use, but would require less time to complete than filling out the paper form by hand. Through the use of a digital signature, a repeatable method in memory to provide information on the veterinary clinic on each form, an efficient method of quickly finding owner information that can be placed instantly into the proper fields, and several dropdown menus that provide appropriate information with the click of a mouse has produced a product that can be completed very quickly. Those familiar with the program can easily complete the form in 30 seconds or less.
   
3. The computer-generated BSE would be capable of producing an abbreviated form which lists the classification of the bull without revealing specific defects or motility as well as the conventional form that would list all specifics. Some members of the committee have witnessed confusion in instances when a bull buyer, unfamiliar with sperm defects, displays concern over any sperm defects regardless if those numbers are within the limits of a satisfactory classification. When the particular bull’s specific data are uploaded into the centralized database, however, the specifics remain intact even if the form did not display them.
   
4. The computer-generated BSE would be attractive, professional, and difficult to reproduce by copying. The paper form of the BSE has a picture of Nandi, which is not conducive to use in the computer form. Because of the affection for Nandi among influential members in the SFT, the committee spent a great deal of time and discussion on the substitution of a silhouette of a generic bull into the logo. Computers can do many things, but in this case it could not keep Nandi from looking like a smudge. Colors were used to highlight two different items: the SFT logo and the classification of the bull. The committee felt that the color in the logo (SFT Green-Pantone 363 green) is good marketing for the SFT and the red, yellow and green in the classification (signifying in order “unsatisfactory,” “deferred,” and “satisfactory”) lent not only an immediate and familiar assessment of the examination but further provided gravity for the reason the bull was tested in the first place. Finally, it is not uncommon for veterinary practitioners to fabricate their own BSE form by copying the current paper form and performing modifications such as removing the SFT logo and inserting the veterinarian’s name and clinic. This is not only a violation of copyright but deprives the SFT of revenue for which it is justifiably entitled. The computer-generated BSE form makes it difficult to perform those types of sinister behaviors.
   
5. The computer-generated BSE would encourage careful and complete examination of the bulls. One feature of the new form is its inclusion of a dropdown menu of 14 common sperm defects as well as an illustration of a normal sperm. The committee believes this offers a great marketing tool for the veterinarian, in that he or she can, by mean of several illustrations, convey to the client what was discovered while examining the morphology stain. While it is not a requirement for completion of the form that the illustrations be included, this will be one method that will enforce perception of the differences between those veterinarians who do a complete evaluation from those who pronounce a bull satisfactory from a cursory examination and a quick look at motility. Further, we believe the illustrations not only provide a guide for those new to the BSE business to see defects that are commonly seen, but it also provides a means – limited though it may be – to look for persistence in specific defects in subsequent examinations.
   
6. The use of the computer-generated BSE should make economic sense for both the SFT and the users of the product. The sales of the paper form of the bull BSE produce an annual income that while not large is nonetheless important, and it is hoped that the new computer-generated BSE will gain equal or greater acceptance. There is no plan to discontinue the paper form of the SFT BSE form. Just as paper forms are now sold in booklet fashion by the SFT office, the computer-generated BSE forms will be purchased by tokens. There will be a tab within the program that, on opening, will give access to purchase a batch of forms through use of a credit card online transaction. Additionally, there is a mechanism that will alert the user to the number of forms yet unused, and we think that this will not only streamline the access to SFT BSE forms but in fact creates a greener, paperless solution to the BSE examination. Currently, the committee has considered a price structure for the program download that includes 50 forms. The program purchase is a one-time event that includes support, and subsequently the forms will be sold in the form of tokens at $0.25 apiece. The current price to purchase one unit of the paper BSE form is $0.33 but when subtracting the cost to print the form the gross net income to the Society is greater when the computer-generated form is used rather than the paper form.
   
7. The records for each bull examined will stay within the program under the owner’s account. Revisions can be made to any part of the computer-generated BSE form up until the record is marked as complete, and at that time the token for that form is spent and changes can no longer be made. The form (either the long or the short form) can be printed on the completed form, however, as many times as needed or desired. While our particular clinic will never be nominated for the Model of Efficiency Award (should there be one), we will examine around 1000 bulls a year and we are perpetually looking into files in pursuit of our findings on a bull we examined previously. Since we retain the yellow copy of the paper form in our files, we must thumb through several sheets of paper to find our previous examination. Many times that is successful if we can find the owner’s file and if we have filed the paperwork properly. Since instituting the computer-generated BSE form we have been able to recover needed previous examinations relatively effortlessly, although we still print a copy of the examination and place it in the owner’s file if we can find it. From a personal viewpoint, retaining the examinations on computer and unlimited printing of the form have been some of the more surprising and valuable features of this program.
   
8. Finally, within this program is the ability to accumulate a large amount of information that can then be stored in a centralized location. Once again, a tab exists that takes one through the process of uploading data, and we believe it is as simple, intuitive and safe as uploading other information (accounting, brucellosis procedures, etc.) that we already perform. We do not presume that all the data will be of high quality, but the committee does imagine the possibility of a large quantity. While I understand the repulsion those scientists among us have to large amounts of questionable information, the committee believes this is an avenue by which the quality of the BSE of bulls can be elevated. If individual practitioners can compare their culling percentage to other practitioners, their evaluation of their own methods may cause changes for the better. Comparing number of abnormal sperm or scrotal circumferences between breeds, ages and locations of bulls would be of great interest, but only in numbers large enough to have confidence that the trends seen are valid. The committee feels that from data collected from this program already and the anticipated percentage of those who would buy based on practitioners already using the paper form, information from 10 000–20 000 bulls a year would not be unreasonable.