His Invention’s a Hit With Baseball
Certainly a most welcome change in the computer industry is the recent shift to user-specific software. One of the people responsible is Bill Kehaly, a software developer whose credo is “Give the user what he wants, not what I want him to have.”
Computers were not Kehaly’s original career goal. After graduating from college in 1982, he was hired by Foster Farms in Turlock, Calif. “My first job title was ‘turkey accountant,’ ” he said, “and I shared an office with an older man whose title was ‘chicken accountant,’ which made me uneasy about my advancement opportunities.”
His future brightened six months later, when Foster Farms asked him to put together some figures for their bankers. Kehaly agreed but said it would take a couple of days using the company’s Univac 9080. While the owners met to consider their options, Kehaly sat down at a personal computer loaded with VisiCalc that another employee had brought in. By the time the meeting broke up that evening, Kehaly had taught himself how to use the program and produced a finished report. Promotion to “user systems analyst” immediately followed.
In 1984 Kehaly moved to Walnut Creek in the Bay Area and set himself up as an independent contractor. His first major contract was with a construction company in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, tracking multi-state garnishments against employee wages. “I always wanted to be in Alaska in the dead of winter,” he quipped, “and this was my opportunity.”
After returning from Alaska, Kehaly spent the next several years developing software for a variety of clients and expanding his operation. Then, in the early 1990s, his company began to acquire a distinctly athletic identity. After watching a coach chart a baseball game, Kehaly was struck by the volume of statistics every game produces and how quickly that data has to be captured. Traditionally, player performance has been recorded on paper charts--a system that makes both entering and using data difficult.
To replace this cumbersome system, Kehaly designed a pen-and-pallet device that can be held in the crook of one arm. The input screen resembles the traditional chart but is easily modified to provide each manager with the information that interests him or her. It is also comprehensive enough that 90% of the user’s time is spent on that one page. A speed gun can also be attached and pitch speed entered automatically.
“What we’re always looking for,” said Robert Schweppe, administrator of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers, “are tools to improve player performance and enhance player confidence. Bill’s system is fast, easy and gives us the edge we need to compete against clubs that are getting more technologically sophisticated every day.”
Seven major league baseball teams now use Kehaly’s Pen-Based Charting System, as do a number of national, college and Little League baseball and softball teams.
Last year Kehaly’s wife was offered a promotion that included relocation to Los Angeles. “Realizing that I could build up my clientele again,” Kehaly said, “as well as maintain many of the clients I already had, we made the move.”
Since the majority of his applications are now self-sufficient, most of Kehaly’s time is spent developing enhancements, writing documentation and setting up video training programs, work that is not location-specific.
His transition to Los Angeles has therefore gone relatively smoothly. “I’m on schedule for beefing up my company again,” he said.
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AT A GLANCE
* Name: Bill Kehaly
* Age: 39
* Education: Bachelor’s in finance with a minor in management information systems
* Previous Career: User systems analyst, Foster Farms
* Present Career: President, Innovative Solutions
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Kate Dunn is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. She can be reached at katedunn@earthlink.net
