As businesses have become increasingly interested in expanding their potential customer base, they’ve realized that the most effective way to increase their reach is to make their content and products available in more languages.
This realization was emphasized by the most recent “Can’t Read. Won’t Buy” survey in 2020, that highlighted the reluctance of potential customers to make purchasing decisions on sites in foreign languages. They were much more likely to purchase from sites with online content in their native language.
Companies have realized that to be a genuinely global brand, they need the content to be available in at least ten languages, including English. Localizing their content into multiple languages, often simultaneously, is a complex process needing modern tools and efficient work practices. The days of managing translation projects with email and spreadsheets are over.
What are Translation Project Management Systems
Effective translation project management systems are far more than just a way of communicating with translators worldwide. They drive a consistent workflow during your localization process, facilitate collaboration, reduce the amount of time taken to complete the project, and consequently reduce the associated costs.
They usually include three main components:
- CAT tools (Computer Assisted Translation)
- Workflow automation tools
- Project management and administration tools
The CAT Tools will include features that speed up translation and improve the quality and consistency. A Translation memory is a database of phrases, paragraphs, and segments of text in the source language and the target languages that can be automatically reused during the translation process. A Translation glossary is a list of industry- and company-specific words, abbreviations, acronyms, and scientific terms and formulations. Machine translation software automatically translates text from one language to another for editing by a human translator. It’s also suitable for simple texts that are free from cultural nuances.
Workflow automation tools can, amongst many other things, allow clients to automatically crawl their website for any content and make it immediately available to the language service provider. This is also possible for software files and marketing content from your content marketing system (CMS). Workflow automation tools can also streamline collaboration, allowing participants to discuss the localization process in the cloud. This eliminates the problem of project managers dealing with a constant flurry of emails from translators, editors, and subject matter experts.
Project management and administration tools allow project managers to track the translation progress using dashboards, where they can create and assign tasks to individual translators, and identify missed deadlines and potential bottlenecks needing to be dealt.
What are the benefits of translation project management systems? Suppose you’re considering translating and localizing your online and offline content into multiple languages to allow the sale of your products and services globally. In that case, you’ll want a language service provider who can make the process smooth and headache-free, and give you high-quality translations in multiple languages.
So how can a translation project management system help both you and your language service provider?
Collaboration
One of the most significant advantages is the ability for teams to collaborate seamlessly. Any large-scale project will have numerous people involved. Several translation service providers, reviewers, subject matter experts, editors, and project managers, will all have access to documents and collaborate as necessary. This ability to collaborate quickly and effectively allows teams to:
- Prioritize different areas of projects
- Work on multiple projects
- Communicate in real-time wherever they are in the world
- Have access to centralized resources
- See the entire project and consequently avoid contextual errors
Automation
Another significant benefit is the ability to automate workflows, remove repetitive manual processes, and improve your team’s productivity and efficiency. Keep your translation service providers busy by automating workflows that automatically upload completed work and allocating the next task to complete.
The CAT tools that most good quality translation project management systems use improve throughput, use translation memories, glossaries, and automated translation technologies.
Project Management
All large translation and localization projects need a single point of contact for the translation service providers, localization specialists, editors, and subject matter experts to refer to if they hit any snags or have questions regarding the project. To assist the project manager in the difficult job of keeping a large project moving forward, translation project management systems come pre-installed with dedicated project management software. This allows the project manager to see who is working on which part of the project, how far along the overall project is, and any bottlenecks that need their attention. The project management software also offers reporting and analytics and a budgeting feature.
Summary
Translation Project management systems are invaluable in terms of efficiency, quality of translations, the control you have over the project, and the time saved. These systems allow you to take your product to market quickly without sacrificing the quality of your content. Regardless of who you choose as your language service provider, make sure they are using a quality translation project management system, as well as assigning you an experienced project manager.
Contact us today to find out more.
