Unlocking the Potential of Quality and Localization
Language Quality is your secret weapon for delivering the right in-language experience. But what does "quality" really mean? Your brand's message deserves to be heard loud and clear in every language; but depending on the type of content, your quality process might be quite different. ?
Many conversations about localization quality can get bogged down by things like processes, scorecards, or personnel involved, with insufficient focus on what really counts: the quality itself. Having an action-oriented plan that is tailored to your goals is key. It should go beyond these shallow aspects and focus on delivering content that always represents your brand while considering various needs, use cases, and related tolerances for errors and user satisfaction.?
In this new edition of our Global Ambitions Newsletter, we're focusing on all things related to Language Quality, with great content, resources, and insights from experts. Enjoy!?
Let’s kick things off with an interview with quality expert, Kate?ina Ga?ová. We interviewed Katerina to ask about the most important concepts in language quality today. Here are her answers:?
What are some important tips you have for maintaining high quality in multilingual content??
Quality is determined by setting expectations with your client, understanding what quality means for them, and their end-clients as well.??
Fit-for-purpose?
The traditional understanding of “one-size-fits-all quality” has been shifted towards the “fit-for-purpose and use-case driven” definition of quality. Today, a quality translation is a translation that:?
?1) demonstrates accuracy and fluency?
2) is required for the audience and purpose ?
3) complies with all other specifications?
4) is negotiated between the requester and provider?
5) considers end-user needs?
The transcendent perspective of Quality which puts perfection as the goal (the closer the translation to the ideal/perfect translation is, the better) should be interpreted also in the context of strategic business perspectives. You must look at the User (needs) and Value (aka Cost). Operational business perspectives, such as Product (quality) and Production (methods) should also be taken into consideration.?
Establish use cases to determine your quality criteria for target content. There is a significant difference between creating content that should inspire potential users to buy a product and creating content that is used for support centers, or for people seeking help. There's even more distinction when creating content that must comply with regulatory guidelines and legal regulations.?
Not an afterthought?
Quality management must be baked into the end-to-end (automated) project life cycle. Quality ownership ensures that quality management activities are defined and have a specific owner and are proactively addressed at every step of the workflow.?
You also need to consider global source readiness. In particular, for the areas of globalization, internationalization, geopolitical correctness, cultural and market suitability, accessibility, and inclusivity.?
Collaborate?
Build a collaboration framework between Buyers and Service Providers as a tool to foster trust, information and knowledge sharing, transparency, engagement and quality ownership. Feedback loops and alignment calls between all stakeholders in the production chain will help identify and address challenges and enable translators to learn from their errors.?
Use automation ?
Data produced throughout all quality management activities should be (automatically) collected in a structured format and stored for further data analytics and dashboarding.?
Take advantage of the latest state-of-the art technologies for automated pre-processing to identify quality risks and/or pre-delivery quality checks which are run to capture various types of non-conformities with quality specifications and guidelines.??
Additional options such as A/B testing, Linguistic testing and In-Context reviews should be considered whenever possible to help ensure smooth in-language experience of the product/content by the user.
What's changed in the field of language quality over the past year??
Lately, quality management in the L10N industry has shifted from the traditional counting of errors towards considering a broader understanding of user needs and expectations.?
NMT as a content enabler has triggered an extensive shift towards the need to start defining quality specifications that are determined by content use cases. This shift is manifested not only in the definitions of what attributes matter for the quality of the particular target content but related to this, which are the steps in the localization workflow and/or what talent should be engaged (in terms of experience, linguistic skills, product/market knowledge).?
Industry practices and standards such as ASTM F2575-23 have been developed to help create project specifications based on project parameters, needs analysis, and risk assessment. F2575-23 also introduces Translation Quality Grades as a tool to help define the use-case driven quality requirements.?
I have also seen that increasingly, service providers are seen as partners who – with their experience, expertise, talent mix, tools, and infrastructure – are there to help Buyers deliver content/products that meet the expectations of their intended users.?
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Additionally, a?lot of effort is invested into the alignment of terminology related to quality management. Reflecting the new landscape is also a part of the initiatives run under ISO and ASTM currently. Standards that will help promote the industry's best practices on quality evaluation (analytic, holistic) and localization project management are in advanced stages of development. The MQM 2.0 website offers a detailed quality management taxonomy, the latest version of Error typology, and explains best practices in quality management.?
Are there any tools that you are excited about using to help improve the quality process??
Quality management is a complex process that should be embedded into the whole project lifecycle. It is about ensuring seamless connectivity between individual management systems (SRM, CMS, TMS, MT engines, workflow/task management and assignment, quality evaluation, automated quality control) to provide transparency and real-time insights and enable gathering of all types of data in a format that allows analysis and benchmarking. There are a few tools that I believe are essential. ?
In this episode of Global Ambitions, Anna Woodward, former managing director of Chillistore, discussed taking language quality from an inspection step to a strategy, and how to give feedback in a people-focused way. She suggested that people have an action plan instead of a pass/fail approach and set up team values to build a positive culture. Listen to the full episode here!
You can listen to all our episodes here:?
Translation without quality control is, at best, incomplete - and, at worst, could make you a laughingstock. Read the article to learn how Chillistore can save your next launch from costly mistakes or PR problems. Read more!?
In the last few years, we’ve seen a growing demand for data collection projects. These projects typically involve translating copious quantities of language data, which is then used to train Natural Language Processing (NLP) or machine learning engines. Data collection projects need to be managed according to specific requirements, and Argos has adapted its language quality strategies to meet this need. We’ve collected several tips for data collection quality management that we think are effective. Read more!?
Are you looking for a way to make sure your translations are spot on? Quality is key when it comes to conveying your message and connecting with your audience. Know the ins and outs of different cultures and assess your content accuracy. It’s beyond the words on the page. It’s about running technical tests to check for consistency and SEO optimization. You should be sure that your message is understood and that it doesn’t fall flat with your audience. Learn how to make that difference! Read more!
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Get ready to level up your data quality expertise with our exclusive resources. We've curated videos, webinars, case studies, and blog posts to help you stay ahead of the curve. So don't miss out - dive in and get ready to take your data quality skills to the next level!?
We hope you have a better understanding of how to improve your data quality and localization efforts to pave the way to your business’ success. Stay tuned for our April edition! ?
See you next month!?
What an amazing list of resources and ideas! I guess language quality is one of those areas where all of us tend to form a firm opinion at some stage. We hold on to it for years. We assume there's nothing new under the sun. But then, we may run the danger of failing to notice that A LOT is actually changing under the surface... Check this out!