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Senior Instructional Designer - Microsoft (via GP Strategies Corporation)

Copilot-Assisted Assessment Design: Transforming Technical Evaluation Workflows

June 2024 - July 2024

aiworkflowinternal tools

Challenge

Assessment creation for technical enablement programs was bottlenecked by legacy manual processes requiring multiple handoffs, review cycles, and reliance on specialized content teams, limiting speed and scalability for FY25 technical skilling initiatives.

Approach

Led the integration of Microsoft Copilot into assessment design workflows, replacing traditional bottlenecks with AI-assisted item generation, review, and refinement.

Workflow Redesign

  • Mapped the existing assessment creation process to identify inefficiencies: manual item writing, SME review latency, formatting inconsistencies, and accessibility compliance gaps.
  • Designed Copilot-assisted workflows that enabled instructional designers to generate technically accurate items directly, reducing dependency on dedicated content writers.
  • Built prompt templates and quality criteria so generated items met Microsoft assessment standards (clarity, technical accuracy, appropriate difficulty, and distractor quality).

Pilot Implementation

  • Led a pilot creating assessments for Security and Azure technical tracks using Copilot-generated items with structured human oversight.
  • Established review protocols that balanced speed with quality by focusing SME validation on technical accuracy rather than writing mechanics.
  • Documented efficiency gains, quality metrics, and designer skill requirements needed to scale the new workflows.

Change Management

  • Advocated for Copilot adoption across the enablement team through internal demos and presentations showcasing speed and quality improvements.
  • Trained peer instructional designers on effective prompt engineering patterns for assessment generation.
  • Contributed to broader organizational discussions on AI tool integration, governance, and expected quality standards.

Outcomes & Evidence of Impact

  • Reduced assessment creation time by approximately 25% by eliminating content-writer dependency and accelerating item-generation cycles, consistent with efficiency improvements realized in Flight Plan "Test Out" assessments.
  • Removed a legacy publishing bottleneck, enabling faster response to evolving technical skilling priorities.
  • Established reusable prompt frameworks now leveraged by other instructional designers for content types beyond assessments.
  • Validated AI-assisted workflows that informed Microsoft's broader strategy for integrating Copilot into enablement operations.
  • Maintained quality and accessibility standards, with generated items meeting technical accuracy and accessibility requirements after SME review.

Tools & Platforms

Microsoft Copilot, Articulate Storyline 360, Microsoft Forms, VitalSource Intrepid platform

Key Capabilities Demonstrated

AI workflow transformation, prompt engineering, process optimization, change advocacy, instructional design, technical assessment creation, cross-functional collaboration