The Calving Book 3.0

For the users who have been using The Calving Book App since the first release, I’m sure you’ve noticed a lot of changes in the past month or so. Most of the big changes came in the 2.0 update (read more about that here). I had a list of 3 pages of things that I either wanted to change or features I wanted to add. After counting them one day, I realized that I completed 2/3 of those! I am always taking the feedback I get and adding it to the list so don’t be shy. This is the first calving season that The Calving Book App has available to the public and I am pretty new to the whole app development thing so it is safe to say that I have definitely learned a lot. I just want all of you to keep in mind that even if you are looking for certain features this year that aren’t there, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be there next year. One thing that has been heavily requested is cow history. I plan on having that in place for next calving season or even this fall. Since this is The Calving Book’s debut, there aren’t years of history to record.
When I was preparing for the first release of The Calving Book, I kept finding things that I wanted to add to it. I knew that if I didn’t set boundaries, it would never get released because I would keep finding things to change. So that is why every time I release an update, the next day I go through my list and circle what will be included. I usually decide based on three things…demand, necessity, and time. If there are a lot of requests of a certain feature I will usually try to add it as soon as I can. If it is essential, I make sure it makes it is in with the next group of updates. Now time is a little more complicated. I like to send out updates as often as possible so I have to pick things that I can get completed in the allotted period of time. Often times I will be working on one feature but it won’t be ready before the update so I continue developing until the next one.

Features new to 3.0

Head count per book: Above the search bar there is a count of how many records are displayed
Delete Book: If you go to the “Books” page, you can click on a book and there you will have the option to delete it.
Shot Records: You can add shot records if you click the shot records button. They are also editable if you click on them.

 Features to look forward to:

  • Export calf info
  • Offline compatibility
  • More detailed statistical information
  • Cow history

Ellen