The buzz at Appian’s big annual customer and partner conference last week in DC was all about mobile, in particular wearable computers. Mike Beckely, co-founder and CTO of the Reston, Va.-based business process management software company, spent months getting trained on Google Glass and sees a future for changing the way people work, especially as they’re called upon to make more challenging decisions. Mike spends about 20% of his time on future technology and thinking through use cases. The company is also experimenting with Pebble smartwatch.

Wearable technology is still a long way off, so the company's event was based on how customers are using its mobile BPM product, which Mike is demoing here. One client, Crawford, a large insurance adjuster, has been arming its temp employees with the app for damage assessments. Crawford is also interested in Google Glass since adjusters are often climbing into small spaces to take pictures and notes on damaged property. Mike says Appian’s approach is to always be thinking about the way people interact with technology. “We’re social scientists, so this comes naturally to us,” he adds.