Small signals. Big returns.
I use predictive analytics to improve performance and profitability — in software and user experience, in aerial mapping, and in real estate.
Predictive Analytics · Design · Flight
Heather Ann Kelly
My career began at Expedia in brand and rebranding, then grew into website design and user experience at Microsoft.
Consulting took me to Boeing and into predictive analytics, where models showed that small adjustments across a global fleet could save millions in fuel. For two decades since, I’ve turned complex data into software and decisions that improve performance and profit.
Today I apply the same approach to land and real estate: aerial mapping that reveals risk and value across a property, and forty-two acres in Oregon’s Applegate Valley that I took from raw land to a permitted, income-producing property.
Along the way I founded nationally recognized companies, including Winerybound, a winery locator and deal finder that earned me Entrepreneur of the Year through Infiniti Motors.
The industries change. The goal doesn’t: see what’s coming, perform better, and protect the bottom line.
Founder
of nationally recognized companies
Entrepreneur of the Year
awarded through Infiniti Motors · for Winerybound
20+ Years
brand, UX & software systems
Level 1 Sommelier
Court of Master Sommeliers
A Life in
Chapters
From brand to predictive analytics to land: one approach, five chapters.
Chapter I
Brand & web
It began at Expedia, working on the brand and its rebranding, and grew into website design.
Chapter II
Experience design
At Microsoft I designed web and software experiences, from research and personas to prototypes and executive dashboards.
Chapter III
Predictive analytics
Consulting brought Boeing, Ford, Zones, and Avanade, and predictive analytics: modeling fuel savings across Boeing’s global fleet.
Chapter IV
Real estate
Those threads, plus twenty years in wine and founding Winerybound, met on forty-two acres of raw land. I added value at every step: permitting, infrastructure, mitigation, and new revenue.
Chapter V
Fire & flight
Now I fly the data myself: a decade of piloting turned toward aerial models that predict risk and reveal value across a property.
Five chapters · One method
The common thread
Predict.
Perform. Profit.
Every chapter comes back to the same three steps: see what’s coming, operate better because of it, and protect the bottom line.
I.
Predict
See it before it happens.
In software & UX
I design analytics dashboards and systems that model outcomes, like fleet fuel savings, before anything changes.
In the air
I map terrain, vegetation, and fuel load to show where risk sits on a property before it becomes a loss.
In real estate
I study permits, fire risk, and use potential before investing, so every improvement targets a property’s highest and best use.
II.
Perform
Turn insight into better operations.
In software & UX
I research how people actually work, then design software that replaces ad-hoc workflows with one clear path.
In the air
I give owners and crews the terrain, access routes, and data they need to plan improvements.
In real estate
I sequence improvements so each one unlocks the next: access, infrastructure, mitigation, then income.
III.
Profit
Protect and grow the bottom line.
In software & UX
I build tools that help executives find sales gaps and savings worth millions, and act on them quickly.
In the air
I document terrain and mitigation to support property value, lending, and insurance.
In real estate
I turned raw acreage into a permitted property with several income streams, and 27 of 42 acres now mitigated and professionally landscaped.
Where I apply it today
0103
Real estate case study
From Raw Land
to Income Property
Love & Luck Ranch is where I test everything first. Each improvement was chosen to raise the property’s value and add a new way for it to earn.
- 1
Entitle
Secured county land-use approval for overnight guests, the permit that turned acreage into a business.
- 2
Build access
Built a commercial-standard access drive, the requirement that unlocked everything after it.
- 3
Add infrastructure
Eight tents, a vintage Airstream, a VIP suite, bath facilities, an outdoor kitchen and bar, wayfinding, and remote-controlled lighting.
- 4
Reduce risk
Heat-mapped the property and mitigated 27 of 42 acres, self-funded first and then extended with an $18K grant, protecting value and insurability.
- 5
Diversify income
Layered overnight stays, a four-tier membership, events, a media lab, and wine sales onto one property.
The result is a turnkey, permitted guest property, and a repeatable playbook for improving land and the income it produces.
Visit Love & Luck RanchSoftware
Systems
Twenty years designing enterprise software, from start-ups to the Fortune 500. Every system began with one question, and was built to improve performance, profit, or both.
Predict
Analytics and decision systems that show what’s coming.
Boeing
Fleet Fuel Conservation
How do you show the butterfly effect of fuel loss?
Predictive analytics · Tableau · executive dashboards
Read the case
The problem
Boeing executives wanted to mine flight data for fuel savings as they planned the next generation of aircraft.
My role
Senior UX designer, working with a managing director, program manager, senior developer, data scientists, and researchers.
The system
An interactive visual story built on flight-diagnostic data and applied algorithms, letting executives move from fleet-wide savings to a single flight at a single airport. I customized the Tableau visualizations with developers.
The result
Executives could spot trends and model how small changes in flap settings, altitude, or routes would save fuel across the global fleet, informing routes, designs, and how pilots fly.
Boeing
Alternate Airport Selection
Can the choice be automated for dispatchers and pilots?
Decision-support system · desktop & iPad
Read the case
The problem
Choosing an alternate airport was a manual process for commercial clients, dispatchers, and pilots, often under emergency pressure.
My role
UX designer leading research and prototyping.
The system
I reviewed existing systems, studied how dispatchers use their monitor space, and interviewed pilots about emergency scenarios, then prototyped desktop and iPad versions built for fast data entry.
The result
A system concept that automates alternate-airport selection, so crews decide faster with the right references in hand.
Ford × Microsoft
In-Vehicle Systems
How can technology in a car help without costing safety?
Global research · next-generation systems
Read the case
The problem
After an early infotainment system failed with drivers, Ford and Microsoft needed a new way to put technology in the car.
My role
Supported the senior UX lead and research lead, cataloguing and synthesizing a global study of driving habits and competing systems.
The system
A consolidated body of research and conceptual designs covering buttons, knobs, touchscreens, haptics, and displays, and which technologies helped or intruded.
The result
Findings presented to senior engineering teams and CEO leadership at Ford and Microsoft, shaping safer, more ambient in-car systems.
Perform
Enterprise systems and workflows that help teams work as one.
Zones
Sales Order System
What if everyone orders the same thing a different way?
CRM & order processing · 3 months
Read the case
The problem
Rapid growth left Zones, one of the world’s largest technology distributors, with every sales lead following an ad-hoc process.
My role
Senior UX designer under a director lead.
The system
Eight leadership interviews, four requirements workshops, heuristic review of the custom sales tools, and personas that mapped unique and overlapping usage, leading to a new prototype reviewed by leadership.
The result
One streamlined path to quote, sell, and follow up, with product-suggestion modeling to open more sales opportunities.
Enterprise client
Sales Pipeline CRM
What do sales leads actually need to manage their pipeline?
CRM redesign · workshops with IT
Read the case
The problem
An aging CRM didn’t match how regional sales leads worked day to day.
My role
UX lead, partnering with IT, regional sales leads, and senior leadership.
The system
An analysis of the current system and code complexity with IT, then workshops where sales leads defined their ideal pages, data, and daily scenarios, consolidated into wireframes.
The result
Signed-off designs ready for IT build, focused on sales tracking and performance.
Avanade
Global Intranet
How do international teams actually use their intranet?
SharePoint platform · 6 months
Read the case
The problem
Avanade’s SharePoint intranet no longer served its teams around the world.
My role
UX lead across research, design, and rollout.
The system
Persona workshops with IT based on page-view analytics, validated with remote surveys and card sorts, followed by internal roadshows while developers built and tested custom components.
The result
A validated experience and a compressed production schedule, since building and roadshowing happened side by side.
Microsoft LEX
Online Learning Platform
Everyone learns differently. What do they share?
Research · personas · learning dashboards
Read the case
The problem
Microsoft needed to understand how developers around the world learn and collaborate online.
My role
UX researcher and designer.
The system
Interviews with developers of different ages, skills, and countries, turned into personas and journeys for the platform’s dashboards.
The result
Shared patterns that helped the team optimize training and collaboration tools across the LEX ecosystem.
Software delivery
Taming Delivery Chaos
How do you stop team chaos from eating profit margins?
Agile & waterfall · process design
Read the case
The problem
Siloed teams, constant rework, and haphazard communication were raising costs and burning people out on a large project.
My role
Worked with the technical lead as UX designer and acting project manager.
The system
Documented where the churn came from, realigned cross-functional teams to shared best practices and development lifecycles, and built reusable tools, including BI dashboards on team performance.
The result
A clear case to senior leadership for better practices, protecting morale, budgets, and margins. Best practices work. Period.
Profit
Commerce, products, and companies built to grow revenue.
Microsoft
Global Subscription P&L
Where are the gaps in sales, store by store?
Power BI · custom code · agile
Read the case
The problem
Executives needed to review subscription profit and loss globally, by product, revenue stream, and store.
My role
Senior UX designer with data analysts, scientists, and global development teams.
The system
Journey maps built with finance teams, and dashboards comparing in-store and download sales by region, campaign, and product, with sensitive data protected through layering and color-coding in the design.
The result
Executives could find sales and distribution gaps quickly and pivot strategy fast.
Microsoft Bing
Dream Trip Builder
Can travelers preview a dream trip before they buy it?
Interactive prototype · commerce
Read the case
The problem
Travelers want to picture themselves on a trip before they buy it.
My role
Worked with a senior UX designer on the flows and produced the executive video demo.
The system
A map-to-destination experience with built-in video editing for a personal trip preview, plus shopping for what to pack.
The result
A funding-ready demo that paired a better planning experience with new sales for related businesses.
Vulcan
CenturyLink Field Experience
What happens when a stadium responds to its crowd?
RFID · beacons · mobile · think tank
Read the case
The problem
Vulcan wanted think-tank concepts for the most technologically advanced stadium in the world.
My role
Senior UX designer, co-leading the vision.
The system
Day-in-the-life storyboards aligning RFID, beacons, and a custom app with location, timing, purchases, and return on investment, including crowd-driven “hive mind” moments.
The result
Concepts for leadership funding review, and an honest lesson: technology should serve the fan, not just the sale.
Founder · Winerybound
Winerybound
What if finding a winery, and a great deal there, took one search?
Winery locator & deal finder · Entrepreneur of the Year
Read the case
The idea
Wine lovers needed one place to find wineries near them and the best offers to visit and buy.
My role
Founder, leading the brand, the product, and the business.
The system
A winery locator and deal finder connecting wine lovers with wineries and their offers.
The result
National recognition, and Entrepreneur of the Year awarded through Infiniti Motors.