Heather Perriam
Inclusive AI Leader | Biz Apps Practice Lead | Women in Tech Advocate
Brixham, United Kingdom
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Heather Perriam is a Microsoft Certified Power Platform Solution Architect and Practice Lead for Business Applications. Leading a growing Power Platform and AI practice, she draws on an extensive background in solution architecture to deliver SaaS and low code solutions across healthcare, public sector, and enterprise organizations. She specializes in helping teams turn complex challenges into practical, scalable outcomes.
With a career spanning both telecommunications and over a decade in Microsoft technologies, Heather combines deep technical expertise with strategic leadership. Originally from the United States and now based in Devon, she is passionate about growing people as much as platforms. She focuses on mentoring consultants and creating opportunities for others to build confident, sustainable careers in tech.
Heather is a vocal advocate for accessibility and inclusive design. She ensures that solutions work for real humans rather than just satisfying requirements documents. Open about her own experience of ADHD, she champions neurodiversity and believes better technology starts with understanding how different minds think and work.
As a supporter of Women in Tech initiatives, Heather actively works to create spaces where underrepresented groups feel seen and supported. Whether speaking at community events or leading delivery teams, her mission is to build technology that works for everyone and a tech industry where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Area of Expertise
Topics
From Developer to Architect: Interviewing and Career Progression Best Practices
Breaking into the tech world is one thing but navigating your career path within it is another. In this session, we’ll explore the different journeys across three key roles in the Microsoft Business Applications ecosystem: Developer, Consultant, and Solution Architect. Each role demands unique skills and interview approaches, and knowing how to position yourself (or guide a candidate) can make all the difference.
From a hiring manager’s perspective, I’ll share insights into what interviewers look for in each role, how interviews differ between technical, consulting, and architectural positions, and the signals that indicate when someone is ready to take the next step. We’ll also look at best practices for candidates to prepare, common pitfalls to avoid, and practical tips for charting a career progression, whether you’re a developer looking to grow into consulting, a consultant aspiring to become an architect, or simply deciding which role fits you best.
Expect real-world examples, practical frameworks, and guidance that will help both candidates and managers make informed choices about role fit and career growth.
Using Personas to Build Solutions People Use
Sometimes we build a technical masterpiece. Yet when that masterpiece goes into production, no one wants to use it. Adoption is low even though the complexity is high.
Solution design often starts with requirements and technology choices but misses the human context that determines whether a solution is actually used. In this practical session we will explore how personas can be applied in solution design, what makes a persona truly actionable, how personas translate into design decisions, and how an AI powered agent can support the creation of meaningful personas that reflect real user goals, behaviours, skills ,and accessibility needs.
Participants will see how personas created with the help of an agent can be used throughout the design lifecycle to influence user journeys, prioritisation, acceptance criteria, and technical decisions across Power Platform and Copilot Studio.
The session includes real world examples and a reusable prompt that attendees can use with Copilot or Copilot Studio to generate personas tailored to their own organisations and solutions. Attendees will leave with a clear and repeatable approach to persona driven design that improves usability adoption and long term value.
Audience: Citizen developers, professional developers, business analysts, UX thinkers, and solution architects.
East of England Power Platform Summit Sessionize Event Upcoming
Dynamics 365 & Power Platform User Group - Manchester - March 11th 2026 Sessionize Event Upcoming
London All Day D365PPUG - November 2025 Sessionize Event
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