translation services

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28.12.2023 by Katja Virtanen

5 useful ways technology can optimise your translation project management workflow

12.10.2023 by Delingua

Translation project management is the art of keeping lots of different pieces in motion at the same time. Stakeholders, third-party vendors, project deadlines and budgets all need to be kept in check while you ensure that your translations are delivered to the highest possible quality.

Can technology make translation project management easier? Yes. Absolutely.

Gone are the days when you were expected to keep track of all your translations in a spreadsheet. Technology has evolved to the point that you can use it to make your job easier, ensuring that you can produce translations on time and of the highest quality when you need them.

Let’s look at how technology can help you improve your translation project management processes.

Problem: Too Many Applications, Emails, Documents…

Translation project management is complex.

You need to keep lots of different plates spinning throughout the lifecycle of a project. You are constantly maintaining open communication with numerous stakeholders, managing different versions of translations from linguists and validators while also keeping on top of budgets and tracking deadlines.

It can be difficult to stay on top of where everyone is throughout the project workflow, and you need to keep switching in and out of your inbox and spreadsheets to make sure everything stays on track.

Solution: A Translation Management System (TMS)

A translation management system (TMS) will bring all of your stakeholders, file versions, notes and planning documents into one centralised location. With this software tool, you can stop hopping back and forth between applications and inboxes to minimise the risk of a loss of data and quality in your translations. Keep it simple by managing the entire project in one place.

Problem: Manual Processes

If one of your translation project stakeholders is a web manager or a product manager there is a very good chance that you will also be familiar with the tools that they use.

A web manger uses a Content Management System to keep the website updated. When creating multilingual versions of a site they will need to import translations quickly and easily. This is also the case with product and asset management software.

Importing translations can be a slow process when done manually and require a lot of oversight to ensure no errors are made in the process.

Solution: API & Custom Integrations

Luckily thanks to APIs and digital connectors within most modern content and assets management tools, this process can become fully automatic. Simply connect your application to a tech-enabled translation management tool and your translations can be imported directly from the translator to the page.

Problem: Translations Are Slow

Translating a document accurately into another language so that it retains its message but still resonates with other cultures is a skilled and time-consuming process. A linguistic expert needs to take time to make sure they choose the right words and phrases to match the cultural expectations of the target language. The job cannot be rushed if you want the quality of your translations to remain high. However, this can prove challenging with tight deadlines and a need to beat your competitors into multilingual markets.

Solution: Post-Edited Machine Translation

Machine translation has come a long way over the last few decades and is now a key tool for linguists to use in their translation process. Machine translation can translate large sections of text in moments and even use Translation Memories to accurately recall previously translated sections and automatically insert them into the content.

With post-editing by a human linguist to add their expertise and ensure that the translation is of the highest quality, machine translation can greatly speed up the entire workflow.

Problem: Maintaining Translation Consistency

When you work with lots of different stakeholders, including many different translators, it can be difficult to maintain a high level of quality. Words and phrases can be translated in lots of different ways and the final decision can be subjective. One vendor may choose a different term to your preference, and it can take a lot of time and effort to validate that everything is matching your corporate voice.

Solution: Termbase

A controlled Termbase will help with this. A Termbase is a set of the terms that you want for your translations. The Termbase will highlight which translation choices do not match your preferred terms added to the Termbase and make suggestions for the translator to use instead. This helps you maintain quality control over your multilingual content.

Problem: Data Risks

When contacting and working with vendors outside of your computer network you open yourself up to the risk of data loss. If you are translating documents that are highly sensitive, they could present a risk to your company when sent outside of your network. The same may be true for other sensitive data such as translation memories and your termbase. If your vendor’s, IT equipment is compromised you could be at considerable risk as well as breaching various data protection protocols.

Solution: Bring Your Vendors into Your System

Within a closed system protected by the highest level of information security protocols your vendors and your data are safely hidden away from any would-be data thieves.

In a secure translation management system that allows collaboration behind a security network you can be sure that you will be able to complete your project securely and limit the risk of any data loss.

LanguageWire Helps Bring Technology into Your Translation Project Management Process

Technology is quickly changing the way we live and work. We can leverage these technologies to aid our working life and free us up to focus on things that really matter. Whether you want to work more efficiently, quickly, cost effectively or securely on your translation projects we have a solution to help you.

This article was originally published by LanguageWire Company (Verity Hartley)

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What a translation agency does (and doesn’t do)

17.2.2021 by Katja Virtanen

Last week, a potential customer told me they prefer to translate their marketing texts themselves. They’re not interested in ordering translations from a translation agency. They had once ordered a professional translation from an agency and, as a result of the experiment, their relaxed marketing style had been turned into what the customer felt was something more like a scientific research report.

We discussed what might have caused the failure in the translation service. This customer, like many others, seemed to have a somewhat incomplete understanding of what a translation agency does and doesn’t do. The biggest surprise for customers is usually how technical translation services are today.

So, I will try to summarise below what we as a translation agency do to make life easier for our customers.

1. We offer translation services in different languages

Naturally, a translation agency can provide you with translations into different languages. The language selections of agencies vary. As a rule, the larger the translation agency, the wider the range of languages. Customers contact a translation agency especially when they need translations into languages that they don’t master themselves.

If the customer maintains several language versions of their documentation, software or website, ordering translations from one place is absolutely the reasonable approach.

2. Efficient translation service process

Ordering translations is not just about individual translations. Translation agencies sell a service that covers the entire process, from workflow to project management and advanced technology. We maintain tools that handle different file formats, optimise the order process and speed up translation work.

At the translation agency, the customer relationship is supervised by an account manager, who knows how to propose solutions and smart practices that benefit the customer. Individual translation projects are coordinated by a project manager, who can keep several balls up in the air in even the most complex assignments consisting of numerous files. They don’t know your needs and style requirements in advance but, as professionals, once they hear about them, they can suggest a solution.

3. Cooperation between people and technology speeds up the translation process

Ordering translations from a translation agency and the translation work itself become faster when the translation is done by a professional translator with the aid of language technology. Language technology refers, first and foremost, to translation tools that speed up the translator’s work and help them maintain the correct style and terminological consistency in the translation.

If the customer company doesn’t have a dedicated translation department, it will rarely have any translation tools either. Without such tools, translation can be painfully slow and, in the worst case, the same text could be translated from scratch several times, wasting valuable time and resources.

4. The translator learns your style and terminology

Although many translators specialise in a certain field, few automatically know the style and terminology of all customers. It’s not reasonable for you to send your text to be translated without giving any other information and expect the result to be perfect. Of course, you could but why would you? You wouldn’t order a new visual corporate image from a graphic designer or a new advertisement from a communications agency without telling them about your target audience and style preferences.

A translation agency uses translation memory and terminology tools, reference materials and style guides as an aid in translation work. The more effort you put into the terminology and reference materials used, the smoother the ordering of translations from the translation agency becomes.

5. Easy to reach, with reliable deliveries

Customers who have their texts translated by one of their own employees or a single familiar translator usually start to sweat if this person is suddenly unavailable to do an urgent translation assignment. Where on earth could they now get the translation done within the given timeframe?

One of the strengths of translation agencies is they are easy to reach. If the translator reserved for the customer’s translations happens to fall ill, the project manager can arrange for a replacement or an entire team of translators to complete the translation. We’re not dependent on a single translator, and we don’t throw the towel in, even in challenging situations. For many, trustworthiness and delivery reliability are the most important factors when ordering urgent translations.

6. Save time through system integration

To an increasing extent, a customer’s translatable materials come in formats other than traditional Word files. Often, translations are required for materials in the customer’s own content or product information management systems (CMS and PIM systems).

In such cases, the smartest approach is not to copy texts to and from Word files but to integrate the systems so that the files move smoothly from the customer’s system to the translation agency’s translation management system and then back to the customer’s system after translation.

7. All language services under one roof

In addition to translations, translation agencies usually provide other language services, too. In addition to review by a native speaker and interpretation services, there is an increasing demand for subtitling and transcription of videos since the Accessibility Directive entered into force, for example. A translation agency can also provide customers with search engine optimisation of foreign-language texts, software localisation or secure machine translation of large volumes of text, among other services.

A good translation agency is a strategic partner for the company in all language-related issues. A partner who is easy to turn to and who knows how to suggest just the right language service solution.

The purpose of a translation agency is to make your life easier. This happens when your time is freed up to do things other than waste time on random searches for translators or monotonous copying and pasting. You don’t need to translate yourself if that’s not part of your core competence. Instead, a professional can perform the task quickly and cost-efficiently, provided they get all the information they need for the job.

If you feel your translation service provider just creates additional stress for you and the service doesn’t meet your expectations, it’s time to change the agency.