At a recent technology competition hosted by Microsoft, two students from Drexel University demonstrated a program they have developed that makes it possible to collect public health data on smart phones. But Bill Buxton, a software design specialist at Microsoft, didn't just want to hear how the program worked. He wanted to know how the information would ultimately be used to help sick people.

"I don't care about data," Buxton said. "How does the architecture lead to what to do next?"­