Join us in DC, Feb 3-6!

Often when trying to solve a problem, we find ourselves looking in familiar places for the answer. But when it comes to data and informatics, relying on surface similarities might prove problematic. How is one to know when a familiar technology is appropriate for a new application or when an entirely new technology is needed? To answer these questions, we developed a methodology to review and analyze requirements and assess existing solutions for fitness to repurpose in new areas. This method led to some surprising findings about when and what types of software solutions are appropriate to reuse for new applications and which are not. In this talk we will outline the steps to review technology and determine fitness to repurpose for new applications. To illustrate the method, we will review a case study of a production software platform used to track trucking data that was repurposed to collect and store global public health surveillance data. Participants will learn actionable steps to analyze, review and determine fitness of their current software solutions for new applications as well as some rules of thumb about when software can be repurposed and when to consider new solutions.