Meet the Translators: Benefits of Tight Localization Collaboration
It’s pretty obvious that translators make a localization project run, but there are plenty of other players in the mix. Developers and localization project managers are the ones under the gun to find and utilize the best translator talent, make sure they have all the tools they need to deliver the best quality translations, and ensure they are working efficiently to get the job done fast.
Most companies don’t have the luxury of employing an in-house translation team that can handle a full-scale localization project. They have to leverage as much technology, people resources and communications tools as possible. As you think about how translators fit into your localization plan, keep a few things in mind:
Identify the Best Translators for Your Project
Seeing rankings of translators, based on the quality of work they’ve delivered in past projects, should be considered when choosing with translators to work with, whether they are language service providers (LSPs) or independent translation professionals. Full-service localization platforms will provide these rankings, which are calculated as a function of each translator’s professional status and move over time based on the up-votes and down-votes of other translators.
LSPs Offer Great Expertise
With the market for app and website localization booming, the companies that provide a broad range of content translation and linguistic services are seeing big opportunities working with software and app providers. LSPs offer particular expertise for translation projects that take deep industry knowledge, or for projects that need a precisely nuanced translation. And they are eager to offer their services: they can reach customers in new markets and offer a broader set of services when they bundle translation with full localization management.
Ensure Tight Collaboration
Like any business process, keeping an open line of communication between contributors helps speed project tasks and keeps everyone synchronized as a team. Developers, project managers and translators can collaborate on a centralized localization platform, where they can monitor the ongoing status of every translation and keep an eye on speed and efficiency. When you know others are watching, there’s always an incentive to keep your end of the process running smoothly.
Tight collaboration also improves the quality of your localization project. Translators need continual interaction with project managers to let them know when re-thinking or re-interpreting an initial project string is needed. Developers who directly (and pre-emptively) get feedback from translators can gain insight into where potential translation bottlenecks are, make improvements in the code and streamline future localizations.
Engage with the Translator Community
Translators can open up a whole new world of interaction with other translators. A collective framework like Universal Translation Memory (UTM) shows them how specific translations rank for each context or scenario, and why others chose that specific translation. And they can access commonly used translations to simplify their work rather than re-inventing the wheel ever time. And it’s not just for translators: project owners and developers can access UTM as well and tap the collective experience of an entire community.
For localization, collaboration is key. The more you know about your translators and the more you can leverage a technology framework the get the most out of them, the better off you’ll be.
