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Factors for Technical Translation Success

Beginning in 2003 the Technical Group, an independent IT translation research organization, published the results of extensive interviews with IT translation executives regarding reasons why IT translation projects succeed or fail. Their report lists the following 10 reasons for technical translation project success in the order of importance: Executive support; User involvement; Experienced translation project manager; Clear translation business objectives; Minimized scope; Standard translation software infrastructure; Firm basic requirements; Formal technical translation methodology; Reliable estimates; Skilled technical translators and staff.

Seven of the 10 reasons relate to technical translation process. The remaining three (executive support, experienced technical translation project manager, and skilled translators and staff) relate to the project, or more specifically to the alignment of the project manager and the team members to the project as well as the alignment of the project to the organization's goals and objectives. It will be helpful to review each of these 10 reasons especially as they relate to the quality of the technical project management process.

The discussion below will focus on the practices and processes that must be part of a quality technical translation project management methodology. This will lay the foundation for our assessment of technical translation project management maturity in later articles.

Executive Support Since this is the single-most important reason for technical translation project success, its absence is the main reason why projects fail. While some may think it is simple to get executive support, many would agree that it is not easily maintained. Changes in executive leadership, changing political scenes, and changing translation company priorities can easily result in the loss of that support. Because of this fragility, the technical translation project manager must be held to standards and practices that preserve rather than alienate the executive sponsor. Those standards and practices will be part of the communications management program that makes up the project management methodology. Executive management must have a stake in the outcome of the technical translation project. A well-devised project plan, along with project team commitment, will go a long way in gaining executive management buy-in. And if the executive becomes the leading spokesperson for the project, it is a sure sign of management buy-in. The executive should be a visionary, setting the agenda, arranging funding, Introduction to the Process Improvement Life Cycle 3 articulating translation objectives, and also be the champion and minesweeper, securing necessary resources and taking total ownership of the project. The executive should not be the project manager, or the function representative, or Santa Claus, or the technical translation officer. Executive support must go beyond their pet projects and extend to the project management methodology itself. Their endorsement of the methodology as the efficient and effective way to manage projects must be visible. They have to walk the talk!

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