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Efficient Translation Management: Five Metrics That Will Lead Your Team to
Continuous Process Improvement
Presented byScott Carothers
Today’s Agenda
What are the issues with the typical translation process?
Can current metrics solve the common problems?
The most valuable metrics for process improvement
Optimizing the translation process with comprehensive metrics
Cost tracking metrics: measuring savings
Q & A
The “Big Picture”Product Life Cycle - from conceptualization to marketplace
• Where do translations fit?
The “Big Picture”• Are translations delaying a product launch?
•Quality
•Delivery timing
•Budget
•In-country review process
The Headache
Corporate Staff – Common Problems
• Translations decentralized
• No enterprise-wide Translation Memory (TM) or workflow process
• Inconsistent pricing
The Headache
Enterprise – Common Problems
Typical Translation Process - Problems
The ‘black hole’
1.Submit a document to the Language Service Provider (LSP) 2.Receive few details
a. Word countb. TM matchesc. Price
Typical Translation Process - Problems
• No real clarity
• Very little accountability
• Difficult to switch LSPs
• Process improvement?
Departments Requiring Translations
Technical Publications
Marketing
Legal
HR
IT
Quality Assurance
eCommerce & Websites
Product Development
Translations are a Black Spend
No validation of quality or cost
No budgetary accountability
Few LSPs, often just one
Tied to a translator’s technology
Translator controlling TM
No translator validation or ratings
Major Management RISKS
To avoid the common RISKS:
•Centralize your TM – keep in-house
•Vendor-independence - always choose your best LSP
•View translations as an enterprise-wide process
•Metrics! Measure everything
•Stop “fire-fighting” translation issues and look at the big picture!
Typical Translation Process – How to Fix
Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?• Most common metrics:
• Which LSP has the assignment
• Delivery timing
• How long did post-editing take?
Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?Mostly manual entries
• Emails add extra time
• Spreadsheets & folders
• TM in unsecure environment• Are you giving the store away?
Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?What metrics are the translators currently offering?
• TM matches• 100% matches• 90-99% matches• 75-89% matches
• Word content reuse
• Price
• Other (as needed)
Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?What metrics are the staff currently monitoring?
•Translation quality metrics absent
•In-country reviewer: – final edits – was LSP kept in loop?
1. Aggregate volume
2. Turnaround time
3. TM analysis
4. LSP ratings
5. Cost-tracking
Most Valuable Metrics
Most Valuable Metrics
1. Aggregate volume:
• Quantifies word count
• Number of projects
• Number of LSPs
Most Valuable Metrics
1. Aggregate volume:
• Word count gives you negotiating power
• Number of projects shows the big picture:
• Which business units submit the most projects
• Which source/target languages are most common
Most Valuable Metrics
1. Aggregate volume (continued):
• Number of LSPs
• Where are the hidden translators? • How many translate the same languages?
• Which business units do the same same languages?
Most Valuable Metrics
2. Turnaround Time: • Deadlines for:
• Internationalization (i18n) • Translation• In-country review• Edits• DTP• Final deadline
Most Valuable Metrics
2. Turnaround Time:
•A clear idea of delays internally AND externally
• Metrics can pinpoint delays to help avoid them on future projects
• Get realistic timeframes for future projects
Most Valuable Metrics
3. TM Analysis:
• Content reuse
• New words submitted, words matched
• Match rates
• 100% & partial matches
• TM match trends (time)
• Overall TM match savings ($)
Most Valuable Metrics
3. TM Analysis:
• Provide a blueprint of savings on each project/enterprise-wide
• Quantifies the value of a centralized TM (even if segregated by business unit)
• Time savings based on matched language pairs
• Amount being saved based on past project reusability
Most Valuable Metrics
4. LSP Performance Ratings:
•Based on common problems:
• Quality - number of defects per 1000 words
• Average delivery times
• Cost-competitiveness
Most Valuable Metrics
4. LSP Performance Ratings:
•Which translators are performing better than others
•Which translators are best suited for each specific project
•Better position to negotiate annual contract rates
Most Valuable Metrics
5. Cost savings:• i18n costs• Project management costs• Translation costs• Review costs• DTP costs• Accumulative cost• Bid savings?
•$37 Billion industry
•28,000+ LSPs
•250,000+ Certified Translators
Bid it out!
Bid Savings
Bidding creates a buyer’s market!
Printing is also a Commodity! $72 Billion Industry with 25,100 Printers
Process Optimization
Define your current process. Where do these metrics fit?
Process Optimization
Process OptimizationContract pricing from the LSP – review the metrics to prepare for next step
Process Optimization
Process OptimizationBid stage – Use the LSP performance ratings to choose the best translator for each specific project
Process Optimization
Process OptimizationTranslation and review stage•Ask your reviewer to answer these 9 questions:
Process OptimizationTranslation and review stage – update quality metrics
Process Optimization
Process OptimizationProject completion stage: turnaround time•Update your metrics and analyze the data •Did a delay occur?
• What was the cause and how can it be avoided?
Process Optimization
Process OptimizationTM updates stage – analyze cost tracking metrics
Process OptimizationTM updates stage – analyze match rate metrics
Process OptimizationTM updates stage – analyze cost tracking metrics
Metrics Dashboard (Automated)
• 24-33% savings (average) 1st year
• 40% second year
• Above 50% in third year
Measuring Savings
Where’s the Money?
20
30
40
50
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
% Savings
Review
What are the issues with the typical translation process?
Can current metrics solve the common problems?
The most valuable metrics for process improvement
Optimizing the translation process with comprehensive metrics
Cost tracking metrics: measuring savings
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