For the love of the game
Shift developed an online database application for New Zealand Cricket to collect data online and provide services that most effectively make use of this information.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) wanted to get more people playing cricket and involved in the sport’s culture. They knew they needed to cultivate a lifelong love of the game and to provide players and administrators with the tools to engage with the sport.
The first step was to find out more about NZC’s target audiences and what they needed to be able to interact with cricket in an online environment. To do this, they needed data collection and data mining tools to focus their marketing and communications efforts.
Adopting a step-by-step approach, NZC started with a small but focused data collection pilot. Shift created a database for registering all cricket players in New Zealand, which NZC is trialling in two regions and will release nationwide in 2007.
Central to the pilot’s success was an adaptable platform that could keep pace with NZC’s business and user needs over time. Our agile approach to design and development meant any part of the database’s functionality could be easily removed or modified if required.
The database is delightfully simple and responsive: results can be quickly evaluated in the real world, with real users.
NZC is now considering more ways to lift their game online, with competition draws, player stats, public access to data and, potentially, websites for cricket clubs throughout New Zealand.