The Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand needed a centralised, human-centred digital response tool that would actually work for farmers in a crisis — not just for the specialists who wrote the documentation.
The Poultry Industry Association had the right technical content. What they didn't have was a clear way to get it in front of the right people at the right moment. Standards, disposal guides, decision trees, response plans: all of it sat in documents that were dense, disconnected, and written for specialists, not for a farmer at 6am trying to figure out what to do next. The window to build something fit for purpose before HPAI arrived was narrow, and the budget was fixed.
We worked upstream of the technical advisors, which meant we could focus entirely on the human end of the problem: who actually needs this information, what state are they in when they need it, and what do they need to do next? We ran a full needs assessment, defined user personas across commercial operators, small producers, vets, and contractors, and documented the functional and technical architecture requirements for the platform.
Then we managed the complete vendor procurement process, writing the RFP, evaluating proposals, and giving PIANZ a clear recommendation on who to build with and what to build first.
PIANZ got a clear, costed roadmap for a centralised digital response tool, structured around three operational modes: preparedness, active response, and recovery. The procurement process was clean and competitive, and the strategy keeps the whole build within a strict GIA-funded budget. When an outbreak hits, the sector will have a tool that actually works for the people who need it most.