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Technical Translation Process Improvement

Technical Translation Life Cycle

Designing, documenting, and implementing a translation project management methodology is a major undertaking. It is met with several obstacles, including: Cultural and organizational barriers to change; Replacing existing translation project management habits (Spanish translators seem to adapt quickly if they are given the tools); Rugged individualism of technical professionals.

A translation company will never reach the point where it is safe to say that all three of these obstacles have been neutralized. In fact, these obstacles will continuously plague techncial translation projects for as long as there are projects to be plagued. Until very recently most organizations have not paid enough attention to these obstacles, which ushered in the beginning of the end for many of them.

Once the technical translation methodology is introduced to the organization, however, its founding fathers claim success and the process of implementing a document translation project management methodology officially ends. To be specific, reaching this point is just the end of the beginning. The strategy for the middle game involves direct confrontation with the above obstacles. Project failure rates are expected to decrease as a result of using the new methodology, but they do not. This is especially true for Japanese translations and Chinese translations.

Technical translation project teams are supposed to use the new methodology, but they are not. The problem is often serious enough to require commissioning a project to find a solution and implement it. As localization organizations come to the conclusion that the time and cost expended to reach the point of full translation project management methodology implementation is an investment in the future, attitudes change. These organizations turn their attention towards protecting their translation investment, and so, programs at improving translation project management performance are sought.

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