Localization management for translation projects, explained
Introduction to Translation and Localization Project Management
In this guide to translation and localization project management, we cover what the most effective project managers do, what project management workflows should look like, and share some top PM tips for localization management.
After all, even with the very best translators and proofreaders on the task, translation projects can be derailed by ineffective project management. As project management is such a fundamental part of what language service providers do, excelling here can be your point of difference.
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What is localization management in translation projects?
The Project Management Institute defines project management as…
Put simply, it’s about getting things done – done well, and done on time.
When it comes to translation projects, localization management involves overseeing a project from start to finish, from quoting through to delivering the final translated text. But what makes translation projects unique is that they cross linguistic, cultural, and often geographical borders. And this makes things more complicated.
It significantly increases the potential for miscommunication – whether a deadline is missed due to time zone miscalculations or differing perceptions of time, or a vendor misinterprets the service requested – the scope for error is considerable.
That’s where translation project management comes in. They’re the ones avoiding and mitigating these risks, maintaining quality, and making sure deadlines are met. Later, we’ll explore how they do just that.
What are the different types of translation projects?
Translation and localization projects come in all shapes and sizes. They differ in terms of:
Language and variety (both the source and target languages and locales)
Specialism/field (i.e. medical, legal, finance, marketing)
Genre/text type (i.e. newsletter, press release, blog post, journal article, film subtitles)
Scope (how many words or pages the website contains)
There’s also the purpose or function of the text to consider. This is often deduced from the above information and from looking at the text itself, but may sometimes be included within the translation brief. This will normally have a strong bearing on the approach the translator takes and on the result.
Project example:
Spanish sneaker brand
Let’s look at a sample project. A Spanish sneaker brand needs its e-commerce site translated into English as it plans to sell to British consumers. While the website’s primary purpose is marketing (convincing people to buy their products), and the subject matter is fashion, the website also includes legal texts such as terms and conditions and privacy policies.
Language and variety: from Castilian Spanish to British English
Specialism, field, or subject matter: fashion (with some legal texts)
Genre or text type: e-commerce site
Purpose or function: marketing, selling to consumers in a new market
Scope: The entire website, made up of:
- 10 main landing pages (including homepage, ‘new arrivals,’ ‘shop womens shoes,’ etc.)
- 50 product pages
- 7 legal policy pages
How do you plan a translation project?
Now that we’ve talked about what localization project management is, let’s look at how you go about planning a translation project when it lands in your inbox.
The six steps of successful localization project planning
Step 1. Gather all the project requirements
First, make sure you have all the information you need. This will include the project deadline, requested services, languages and varieties, specialisms/fields, file types, and reference materials or style guides.
Then, of course, there is the budget. Does your client (internal or external) have a fixed budget they’ve stated up front, or can you deduce what they might be willing to accept?
Step 2. Sketch out the entire workflow
Include each task. You can go old school with a pen and paper if you find it helpful. Or a far better option would be to use your translation management system (TMS) to add each step into a pre-defined workflow, such as translation, editing, proofreading, and DTP.
You may need to check how many stages of proofreading or quality assurance the client is willing to pay for – and providing your recommendation here is always a good idea.
Step 3. Work backward, adding deadlines for each job
Normally, translation projects are driven by the end deadline – when does the client need to receive the completed translation? A common method is to work backward from this final deadline to plan out the project, penciling in individual deadlines for each task within the overarching project.
Make sure the timescales are feasible but also meet the client’s requirements.
If not, you may have to go back to the client and negotiate a new delivery date.
It’s also essential to build in buffers throughout. This will give you breathing room if any job takes longer than expected or if individual vendors need to negotiate deadlines. Rescheduling and working out new deadlines for every job can be tricky, but translation project management software can help. Another advantage to accounting for ‘slack time’ is that if everything runs like clockwork, you could even end up delivering early to the client – and that’s sure to impress.
Step 4. Send a quote
Some language service providers will send a quote to the client at this stage once they have an idea of the overall workflow, the services required, the deadlines, and the budget. Others prefer to get all their ducks in a row before quoting.
The advantage to quoting later is that your calculations are likely to be more accurate so you won’t lose out financially. However, the disadvantage is that speed is often key to winning projects.
Step 5. Choose your vendors
Now with your project plan and provisional deadlines, it’s time to choose vendors for each job. Depending on the project, this might include translators, editors, in-country reviewers, and more.
At this point, it also makes sense to put together your in-house teams, such as project coordinators, quality assurance, or desktop publishing experts.
Step 6. Prepare and send documents
Rather than forwarding source documents straight on, it pays to take a little care here. Make sure you’ve got all the files you need in the right format, and chase up where needed.
For example, uneditable files can be a stumbling block for your localization team. Nip that problem in the bud and get the correct documents before sending them on. If you have a style guide, translation memories, and other useful materials, pass those on, too – this background information can have a big impact on translation quality.
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Using localization management software to plan
Project planning is one area where technology can be a big help. Let’s think about rescheduling deadlines, which can be a real headache.
Say one translator wants to negotiate a later delivery date, but the proofreader you’ve assigned will no longer be available at the new date. A translation project management system like XTRF can take these manual calculations and adjustments off your hands.
Once you’ve plugged in the final deadline and added in the different steps involved, each job will be planned out with appropriate deadlines based on your settings. For instance, you might allow for 2,000 words translated a day (though you can amend your settings or just give a little more time for specific projects).
What’s more, when you do need to change a deadline and find a new vendor, you can search for the right person based not only on their specializations and language pairs but also on their availability and remaining capacity.
What is a typical project process for localization project management?
As we’ve seen, there are many different types of localization projects. The medium, purpose, scale, and complexity of the text influence the steps in the process, as does the project budget.
Translating an internal newsletter from English into Greek is a very different matter to localizing an app into multiple different languages, or transcreating a billboard for five different markets – and the project workflow will reflect that.
However, we’ve provided both a broad general overview of translation project workflow, and a more detailed example below.
Localization management workflow examples
Translation project process: a bird’s eye view
Preparation >
Localization >
Production (translation, proofreading, desktop publishing) >
Client feedback (changes, then approval) >
Delivery
Each of these stages may contain several individual jobs, particularly the production stage. In more complex or high-stakes projects, this could include things like translation, editing, proofreading, in-country review, and desktop publishing. Each language combination will have its job, as you can see below. It’s worth noting here that different companies have different processes and workflows and name things differently.
Multilingual multi-service translation project workflow: up close
In most cases, translation projects are linear – that is, the translation takes place before the proofreading, which takes place before quality assurance (whether this is outsourced or completed in-house). But various jobs or stages may be repeated. For example, the client feedback stage could also trigger a second round of production if they weren’t happy with the result or if they changed their minds about what they needed.
Traditional waterfall approach vs. continuous localization
In software and app development, the traditional sequential or ‘waterfall’ approach to translation doesn’t always fit with new ways of working. Agile and iterative workflows are fast becoming the norm, and this involves making many smaller changes, releasing new features, or adding or tweaking functionality regularly rather than publishing the whole application in one go.
Continuous localization is the translation industry’s answer to these approaches. In continuous localization, translation or localization happens at the same time as software development rather than after development has been completed. This means many smaller localization projects.
What does a project manager do for localization management?
Translation project managers oversee the translation process from beginning to end.
Think of them as the conductors of the orchestra.
They are accountable and responsible for the project, so they need to make sure everything is completed on time and to the expected quality.
Communication is key here. Communication skills are a vital part of a project manager’s job. Clear communication ensures that clients’ and vendors’ expectations are managed, reasonable, and met.
Project managers are the main point of contact for any queries related to the project and act as a bridge between the client and the suppliers or vendors, liaising and transferring messages. Project managers spend about 80% of their time communicating (Tsvetkov and Tsvetkov, 2011).
Day-to-day translation project manager tasks include:
creating and sending out quotes to clients
choosing and briefing the translation team
preparing and sending files
chasing up and answering project-related questions
answering and resolving technical issues
sending the translated files to the client
asking for feedback from the client (and reviewer)
sending feedback to the translator
Translation project managers may also be responsible for quality control or even proofreading. But they often wouldn’t be involved in finances, such as issuing invoices or recruiting localizers, which would normally be handled by accounts and vendor management teams, respectively.
Although project managers are responsible for each of the above tasks, how they go about this will vary depending on the technology and systems they use.
The vast majority of project managers will be using some translation project management system to facilitate some of these steps. Some will automate many menial, repetitive tasks such as sending out files or feedback requests, freeing project managers up to go the extra mile.
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Value-added work for project managers
Efficient systems can allow project managers to spend more of their time and energy on value-added activities.
The below examples can help increase translation quality and efficiency, save money and time, deliver excellent customer service, and give the company a competitive edge.
term base and translation memory management
identifying new opportunities, trends, and challenges (i.e. in service or languages)
nurturing client relationships and providing advice
learning about local markets
finding new ways to integrate or harness technology
building and strengthening relationships with vendors
identifying training needs and organizing training
What does a translation vendor manager do?
First, we must determine what the difference is between translation project managers and translation vendor managers.
It can be confusing, especially as responsibilities vary from one organization to the next (and sometimes the roles are combined).
But let’s briefly explain what a translation vendor manager typically does. Broadly speaking, they are responsible for managing relationships with the suppliers of translation services: translators, reviewers, proofreaders, copywriters, and so on.
Let’s see what this looks like in more detail…
Day-to-day translation vendor manager tasks:
recruiting vendors (including sometimes requesting a test or trial project)
administration and registration of vendors (agreeing rates, checking qualifications, signing non-disclosure agreements, adding to a database/TMS, verifying bank account details)
advising translation project management teams when choosing vendors for projects
responding to general queries and issues raised by vendors (not normally with a specific text)
liaising between project managers and vendors
managing the pool of vendors, identifying gaps, and working to fill them
Three localization management tricks
Sometimes, project managers can feel a bit like hamsters on a wheel. And with the pace of translation projects showing no signs of slowing, it’s hard to avoid this. But it is possible.
Our advice? Make the most of technology to speed up your processes.
This will make you more efficient and give you the time to go the extra mile and add value in other ways, winning new business and making happy clients and vendors.
Below are three top tips to get you started…
1. Harness technology
Get the most from your tech stack. This includes managing termbases and translation memories, using automation and translation management systems to work efficiently and effectively, and saving time and money.
These tasks may require an initial investment, but you’ll soon be reaping the rewards in productivity gains.
2. Review and improve
Spot gaps in the market, in your processes, in your workflows, and in your vendor pool, and report this back to management, along with any recommendations you may have. You could do this either through market research, looking at your reporting or analytics, or simply based on your own experience.
Similarly, identify new service areas or training needs and suggest training for in-house staff and vendors to help your entire team upskill.
This will help you stay ahead of the game.
3. Build strong relationships
Nurture relationships with your vendors, your clients, and your internal teams. By showing your vendors some love, you can jump to the top of their list, meaning they’re more likely to choose your projects first and give their all. When it comes to clients, meeting and exceeding their expectations, for instance, by suggesting improvements and ways of saving money, means they’ll want to come back to you time and again. As for your internal staff members, staff satisfaction has been shown to reduce employee turnover and increase productivity.
About the Author – Grant Blackburn
Grant has over a decade of experience in the localization industry. Having previously worked in telecommunications, he now uses his experience to advise enterprises on the best approach to creating multilingual content, improving quality, and cost reductions in localization management. He is also an experienced speaker at industry conferences such as tekom, AsLing, and ATC among others.
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