Devon Richard

Devon Richard / Editorial & content

Writer. Editorial leader. Builder.

I develop messaging, write and edit complex content, and build the teams, standards, and AI tools that bring it to life.

See the work

01 Selected work

Open it. Read it.
See what I do.

Published work is linked where available; internal projects are illustrated through representative examples and workflow diagrams.

Writing & Editorial

Long-form content, channel standards, UX writing, and interview-led technical work.

Microsoft Global Demand Center Editorially led

Retail data,
made useful.

Optimize Shopper Experiences with a Strong Data Estate

Long-form content that makes technical capabilities relevant to an industry audience.

My contribution Editorial development, stakeholder alignment, and collaboration with design.

Read the complete ebook PDF ↗
Behind the work

The brief

Make complex technology useful across industries and markets.

What I shaped

I led editorial development from intake through delivery, aligning content structure, stakeholder needs, visual design, and localization.

Shared work

Editorial leadership in partnership with stakeholders and designers.

Microsoft Partner Blog Reviewed & led

Thought leadership,
ready to publish.

I developed comprehensive editorial standards for the channel, and I review posts to ensure they meet those standards.

My contribution Standards development, editorial review, proofing, finalization, quality assurance, and team oversight.

55

partner blogs overseen
February–August 2026

Read the Microsoft Partner Blog ↗
Behind the work

The channel

The blog connects Microsoft’s cloud and AI strategy with practical guidance for its partner ecosystem.

My hands-on role

For roughly the past 18 months, I’ve personally reviewed, proofed, finalized, and quality-checked most posts, with the editors I manage handling others.

The scope

The 55-blog figure covers the work I oversaw from February through August 2026.

Ebook + infographic / Select a preview
Deloitte + ServiceNow Developed

Research with
a human focus.

Workforce and hiring research, translated into content that business readers can use.

My contribution Research synthesis, content development, stakeholder collaboration, and design alignment.

Read the ebook PDF ↗ Read the infographic PDF ↗
Behind the work

The work

I developed an ebook and infographic, turning research and stakeholder insights into accessible narratives and working with design to carry them through.

What to review

The ebook covers hiring processes; the infographic explores changing worker–employer relationships.

Microsoft guided tours UX writing

Show the product.
Guide the reader.

Step-by-step writing that connects product capabilities to a recognizable use case.

My contribution Product research, user-flow mapping, and script writing with cross-functional collaborators.

Explore the current tour gallery ↗
Behind the work

What I made

I researched products, mapped user flows, and wrote guided-tour scripts for Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Industry Clouds.

What to review

The preview shows a Power BI guided tour.

Also in the work / Deloitte + HPE

Interview-led technical writing.

A hybrid-cloud whitepaper built from interviews with Deloitte, HPE, and Splunk leaders.

My writing and research role

I researched, interviewed, and wrote to explain the solution’s value and differentiators to technical and business audiences.

Splunk PaaS—AI enabled data platform for DevSecOps.

Messaging & Strategy

Partner positioning and keynote messaging for complex AI opportunities.

Microsoft / Frontier Transformation Messaging strategy

From AI transformation
to partner opportunity.

Microsoft’s Frontier Transformation vision moves AI beyond experimentation toward business-wide change.

I authored partner messaging and developed the FY27 messaging and positioning framework to connect that vision with partner opportunity and program value.

My role Authorship, messaging strategy, framework development, and stakeholder alignment.

Explore Microsoft’s Frontier Transformation collection ↗
Behind the work

The brief

Translate a broad AI transformation strategy into a clear partner value proposition.

What I shaped

I wrote the initial framework, synthesized executive and program feedback, and brought technical, partner, and program inputs into one narrative.

What I built

Across the broader messaging practice, I developed frameworks, built a proof-point library, and launched a hub for teams to find and apply approved guidance.

The broader messaging practice
23+ Messaging &
positioning frameworks
Central
proof-point library
Messaging hub Find & apply approved guidance

Campaigns · Email · Partner communications

Public strategy context

Microsoft’s Frontier Transformation partner hub

View the public hub ↗
Microsoft / FY27 kickoff

MCAPS Start
for Partners.

Powering Frontier Transformation together
MCAPS keynote Editorial support

Value messaging
for a keynote.

I supported editorial and value messaging for the keynote at MCAPS Start for Partners, Microsoft’s partner-focused FY27 kickoff.

My contribution Editorial and value-messaging support for the keynote.

Read the event recap ↗

Tools & Team Leadership

Reusable AI tools, editorial practice, and team leadership.

Built & maintained Agents & skills

Building and maintaining
editorial agents.

I build and maintain AI agents and skills for research, drafting, proofing, and review.

My role Co-leadership of editorial AI, with ownership of the industry whitepaper and ebook Claude skills.

GitHub Part of our governed agents layer for content development.

Behind the work

The purpose

Make new tools useful without losing editorial accountability.

My contribution

As part of a four-person cross-functional AI team, I design, test, and maintain reusable agents and skills. For the whitepaper and ebook skills, I translate editorial structure, sourcing requirements, and voice guidance into drafting support, with human review retained.

What changed

A team-used fleet that includes six editorial agents and three strategy agents. A September AI roadmap estimated 30–50% less time on content creation.

The roadmap figure is a documented estimate, not an independently verified timesheet result. Impact varies by task: the Standard web-blade drafting allowance remained 1 hour.

Two Claude skills I own

Industry whitepapers

Editorial structure, sourcing requirements, and industry voice.

Industry ebooks

Narrative development, source guidance, and consistent voice.

Built and maintained within a shared AI practice.
Applied with human editorial review.

Separate template-budget example · Standard one-pager · R1

Less planned time
for initial drafting.

3 fewer planned hours
60% planned reduction

FY26 template 5 planned hours
July FY27 template 2 planned hours

Matched drafting-step budgets, not whole-project or logged time savings. This is not a measured outcome of the two skills above. Based on supplied roadmap and template summaries; underlying time records were not independently reviewed.

Editorial leadership

Standards that stick.
Teams that grow.

I lead the work and help people do it well: setting editorial standards, guiding complex workstreams, and coaching writers.

AI enablement / Led

Listen before training.

I led a team feedback pulse and readout to shape AI enablement around tool use, output evaluation, and capacity needs.

Editorial operations / Resourcing oversight

Make ownership clear.

For the current industry-marketing workstream, I oversee resourcing while the project editorial lead owns direction, execution, and final sign-off.

12+

Microsoft workstreams
under editorial leadership

55

partner blogs overseen
February–August 2026

3

team promotions
in two years

See my editorial practice
From brief to reusable practice
  1. 01

    Shape

    Audience, research,
    and narrative structure

  2. 02

    Develop

    Writing, editing,
    and design collaboration

  3. 03

    Review

    Sources, voice,
    accessibility, and accuracy

  4. 04

    Enable

    Shared standards,
    resources, and team coaching

Client work completed through Johnnie Studio, in collaboration with stakeholders and design teams.

02 A little background

Editorial range.
Hands-on craft.

I care about the writing and the people doing it.

I’m Senior Director of Editorial at Johnnie Studio on the Microsoft account, where I’ve grown from copywriter to account-level editorial leadership since 2020.

Earlier work in teaching, technical documentation, and community journalism still shapes my approach: research carefully, listen closely, and respect the reader.

MFA, Creative Writing
University of Washington BA, English
University of California, Davis

Let’s connect

Let’s make
good work.

devon1richard@gmail.com Find me on LinkedIn

Editorial leadership · Writing · Content strategy · Content systems

Work preview

Retail ebook sample pages
Read the complete work ↗