This Wiki is a byproduct of a talk [1] about "Localization Project Management Best Practices" at '05 Unicode Conference in Berlin [2]. We have set up this Wiki to cover all the contents that we could not include in the presentation because of space and time restrictions.
This page includes a list of 'Concepts' and 'Best Practices' (BPs) for the efficient management of translation and localization (l10n) projects. The BPs are classified in the following areas:
- Cultural & Communication
- File & Version Management
- Translation Specific
- Project Setup & Environment
- General Project Management
These pages have been compiled with the help of many contributors. Please contribute yourself! You can edit all of these pages and modify/extend the contents.
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Cultural & Communication
- Communication Test
- Test the communication during an EarlyStart
- Project Instructions
- Prepare instructions for all project participants before translations start
- Style Guide
- Define conventions how a translator should translate certain critical constructs or terms
- [Translation Context]
- Provide all translators with the domain context of the translation
- Communication Design
- Define the communicatioin channels that project members should use to talk to each other
- Communication Strategy
- Define which project members should talk to each other
- Communication Channel
- Medium for communication between project members
- [Response Times]
- Determine how quickly project members react to communication on different channels
- Query Management
- => IncidentManagement
- Incident Management
- Management of questions and problems that occur during the project
- Intercultural Management
- Techniques to improve communication between cultures with different habits and values
File & Version Management
- File Management
- Management of distribution of files to and from project members
- Late Changes
- Changes in source text, introduced while the translation of the source text has already begun
- File Naming
- Conventions to store files and file versions in a computer
- Translation Workflow
- Automatic distribution of files to project members
Translation Specific Practices
- [Translation Memory Synchronization]
- Synchronize the contents of TranslationMemories for consistency and efficiency
- [Translation Memory Quality Review]
- Revise the content of a TranslationMemory of a previous project before using it for the current project
- [Translation Memory]
- A method to save 30%-80% of translation work.
- [Translation Quality]
- Quantify the quality of translations in order to compare prices
- [Gui Translation]
- Translation of the GraphicalUserInterface of a software
- [Translation Memory Extraction]
- Extract a TranslationMemory from a previous project by aligning source and target files
- [Qualtiy Feedback]
- Allow the "final customers" of a translation (distribution partners, local offices) to express their opinion about the translation quality of the project
- [Gui String Size]
- Maximum and minimum constraints on string in the graphical user interface of a software program
- [Localizable Item]
- An element of the graphical user interface of a software program that needs to be adapted to the TargetMarkets
- Multi Language Vendor
- ([MLV]) A translation agency that covers the entire TranslationValueChain
- Translation Value Chain
- The chain of all processes that are necessary to deliver a finished product.
- Single Language Vendor
- ([SLV]) A translation agency that specializes in delivering a single target language.
Project Setup & Definition
- [Centralized Translation]
- Translation of corporate material at the headquarters
- [Decentralized Translation]
- Translation of corporate material at local offices or at distribution partners
- [Multilingual Architecture]
- The l10n relevant parts of the software architecture of the program to be localized
- [Distribution Partner]
- A company that distributes a product in a TargetMarket
- [Local Office]
- A company's subsidary that distributes a product in a TargetMarket
- [Target Market]
- A specific market for the company's product with requirements different from the company's home market
- [Provider Selection]
- The process and criteria for selecting a provider for a project
General Project Management
- Early Start
- Testing the communication flow
- [Stake Holder Analysis]
- Determine who else might be affected from the project, apart for the project members
- Early Start
- Start project activities before the critical part of the project starts
- [Approval Criteria]
- Determine the criteria of for acceptance/rejection of a translation before the project starts
- [Executive Communication]
- Communication with superiors about a l10n project
- [Return Of Investment]
- Element in ExecutiveCommunication - specifies the company's benefit of a l10n project
- [Learned Lesson]
- Errors and mistakes made in a previous project
- [Project Milestones]
- Element of ExecutiveCommunication - allows senior management to track the progress of a project
- [Provider Evaluation]
- Process to determine whether a provider is a suitable project member
- [Steering Commitee]
- A group of senior managers supervising the project execution/h4>
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