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ProcessTranslation/Localization Project Management Process | 1. |
Download source files, either from the client’s e-mail or from FTP site in the case of a large project or graphic-intensive files.
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| 2. |
Assess the various file formats and the tools to be used, in order to leverage our professional translation tools such as Trados Workbench, TagEditor, WinAlign, SDLX, Wordfast, Idiom Workbench, Catalyst.
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Analyze the project: Calculate the word count and assess the possible localization issues (e.g., content, format, special characters, variables, tables, graphics and text expansion). For example, for software resource files, such as C++, do we reassign hot keys, aka shortcut keys?
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Contact the client and discuss the issues and turnaround time needs.
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Log-in the project and its parameters in our Google-based project management interface, and keep it updated.
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Preflight: Whenever the budget and time allow for it, create a style guide and/or develop a glossary with key terms. If applicable, align the source/target files from a previous translation and import them into a translation memory in order to leverage existing terminology.
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Prepare the files: Run macros to protect the source codes, or manually externalize any non-translatable text (e.g. the programmer or developer’s instructions), if applicable.
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Select linguists according to their specialty (e.g., information technology, technical, marketing, financial, legal and medical) and availability, and send them prepared documents to translate, with appropriate instructions (specifics of project, word count, tools to use, what to translate or NOT to translate).
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For large projects, select a team and work out milestones, staggered delivery, feedback and sharing of translation memory between linguists in order to meet the deadline while ensuring consistency of the work product. The use of an online translation memory is always preferable (Trados TM Server and Wordfast remote TM.
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Edit/Proofread the translated documents, double-check that any cultural content has been properly localized (e.g., properly adapted idiomatic expression or cultural references, US dollars converted to Euros or Canadian dollars and Imperial measurements converted to Metric System).
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Run a final electronic spell/grammar check and deliver the project to the client.
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Perform final Quality Assurance:
- For software projects, when required, resize the French user interface with Developer Studio or other client proprietary tools, using Microsoft standards for captions, buttons, menu options & drop-down lists.
- For Web projects, test/validate the web pages, or other online content, such as a study or a survey, on both linguistic and functional levels, and create a report for the client in their preferred format (MS Word, Excel or PowerPoint).
- For documentation or marketing projects, review and annotate the final layout file in PDF files using Adobe Acrobat.
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If there is an in-country review by the client, implement the changes in the final files as well as update the translation memory in order to use the proper translation in any follow-up project.
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