Update on PSM breed database

As many people in the PSM community know, a new breed database as been worked on for a while now. For various reasons, the work has taken longer than originally anticipated - partly because everyone involved is working on a volunteer basis, and as such there are sometimes long gaps in our ability to progress this important project.

Another reason why it has taken longer than expected is that we are not just reconstructing the old website. Given that the breed is aiming for provisional FCI recognition, we needed to think carefully to find the best technical solution from the beginning so that the club will be able to collect the data we need for that application process.

This database is like a house: the most important work is in the foundation that is practically invisible when the house is complete. A solid foundation makes many things possible in the future whereas a poorly built foundation may need repairs and limit your options.

We appreciate that it will take a huge community effort to populate the new database, so we only have one opportunity to get this right.

The club has asked us to lead the development of the new database, because Tane has extensive experience specifically in building software like this and I have experience in visual design. We are very happy to volunteer, because we are passionate about the breed and due to living outside of Poland, our options for contributing to the community are limited to what we can do remotely.

Elina & Tane

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DATABASE UPDATE IN DETAIL

Background

The Polish Hunting Spaniel Database was established in 2018 at the Polish Hound  Database. Due to the need for modernization and better management of the information contained therein, a new, independent database was created. The Polish Hunting Spaniel Database is owned by the Polish Hunting Spaniel Club-Commission of the Polish Kennel Club (ZKwP).

Database technical team

Technical development (database & tools) - Tane Piper

25+ years’ experience in software development; experience in building and maintaining complex databases and knowledge systems for large organisations; currently senior technical leader at Inter IKEA

Project coordination & community contact - Elina Halonen

Coordinates communication around the database and supports contributors; serves as the first point of contact for questions; webmaster for polishhuntingspaniel.com.

Progress to date

Since work on the new database started, the following groundwork has been completed:

• Preparing and cleaning data from the old database so it could be imported safely

• Importing historical data and validating that records transferred correctly

• Designing and setting up the database structure for dogs, kennels, litters, breeders, and relationships

• Building the website layer that sits on top of the database

• Implementing core functions for viewing and managing records

• Setting up secure user accounts and access control

• Initial testing of data integrity, calculations, and site behaviour

• Identifying edge cases and inconsistencies that need follow-up during Phase 1

This work establishes the technical and data foundations needed before any wider rollout is possible. Much of this work is not visible to users, but it’s essential for accuracy and long-term reliability.

Next steps

• Phase 1: In the coming weeks, we are working on checking that the imported dog information is correct and adding dogs that have been born or registered since the last export from the old database. We are also checking translations and finalising appearance of the site.

• Phase 2: After this, we will be onboarding breeders so that they can update the information on their dogs and litters the old database was taken offline. There will be an option to do it yourself, and potentially also sending the information to the database team.

• Phase 3: After that, we’ll begin rolling access out to owners, and only then move on to broader features for the wider community. At the moment, the goal is to do this at the time of the Club Show – depending on the progress.

Phase 1 details

Activities include:

• Verifying imported data for accuracy and consistency

• Adding dogs missing since the last database export

• Administrative checks (records, ownership, basic completeness)

• Reviewing core site functionality and workflows

• Identifying issues to fix before wider access

• Checking translations

  
  

This phase focuses on making sure the foundations are solid before moving on.

We welcome questions, concerns and feedback! You can submit them anonymously by using this form:  https://forms.gle/iRMSLaZszRsSR9jw5