Leveraging Appification To Spur R&D Innovation

In my last entry, I posited that technology should be a barrier to “appifying” R&D workflows. So why haven’t apps taken off so far in R&D? I’d argue that it comes down to the paradigm shift that mobile technology has created in computing. Turning an existing software workflow into an app requires distilling the core essence of a task to a minimalistic, simple user interface that focuses on what really matters. Further, because even apps designed for niche use will be compared to the current menagerie of consumer apps that many of us use daily, scientists will expect a quality user experience.

That’s a tall order for the typical software vendor, which is why the Pistoia Alliance is pursuing an “app strategy” aimed at bringing together three necessary components to “appify” R&D...