Join Scott Carothers, Senior Globalization Executive at Kinetic the Technology Agency for an overview of specific translation metrics that will assist your enterprise in optimizing the translation process, and assist you in leading your organization as an advocate of continual process improvement.

1. Is your Enterprise “Fire-fighting” Translation Issues?
Optimize the Process with Comprehensive Metrics!
Presented by
Scott Carothers

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4. We Serve a Very Broad Client Base . . .

5. . . . Spanning All Industries

6. Today’s Agenda
What are the issues with the typical translation process?
Can current metrics solve the common problems?
The most valuable metrics for process improvement
Optimizing the translation process with comprehensive
metrics
Cost tracking metrics: measuring savings
Q & A

7. The “Big Picture”
Product Life Cycle - from conceptualization to marketplace
• Where do translations fit?

8. The “Big Picture”
• Are translations delaying a product launch?

9. •Quality
•Delivery timing
•Budget
•In-country review process
The Headache
Corporate Staff – Common Problems

10. • Translations decentralized
• No enterprise-wide Translation Memory (TM) or workflow
process
• Inconsistent pricing
The Headache
Enterprise – Common Problems

11. Typical Translation Process - Problems
The ‘black hole’
1.Submit a document to the Language Service Provider
(LSP)
2.Receive few details
a. Word count
b. TM matches
c. Price

12. Typical Translation Process - Problems
• No real clarity
• Very little accountability
• Difficult to switch LSPs
• Process improvement?

14. Departments Requiring Translations
Technical Publications
Marketing
Legal
HR
IT
Quality Assurance
eCommerce & Websites
Product Development

15. Translations are a Black Spend
No validation of quality or cost

16. No budgetary accountability
Few LSPs, often just one
Tied to a translator’s technology
Translator controlling TM
No translator validation or ratings
Major Management RISKS

17. To avoid the common RISKS:
•Centralize your TM – keep in-house
•Vendor-independence - always choose your best LSP
•View translations as an enterprise-wide process
•Metrics! Measure everything
•Stop “fire-fighting” translation issues
and look at the big picture!
Typical Translation Process – How to Fix

18. Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?
• Most common metrics:
• Which LSP has the assignment
• Delivery timing
• How long did post-editing take?

19. Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?
Mostly manual entries
• Emails add extra time
• Spreadsheets & folders
• TM in unsecure environment
• Are you giving the store away?

20. Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?
What metrics are the translators currently offering?
• TM matches
• 100% matches
• 90-99% matches
• 75-89% matches
• Word content reuse
• Price
• Other (as needed)

21. Can Current Metrics Solve these Problems?
What metrics are the staff currently monitoring?
•Translation quality metrics absent
•In-country reviewer:
– final edits
– was LSP kept in loop?

22. 1. Aggregate volume
2. Turnaround time
3. TM analysis
4. LSP ratings
5. Cost-tracking
Most Valuable Metrics

23. Most Valuable Metrics
1. Aggregate volume:
• Quantifies word count
• Number of projects
• Number of LSPs

24. Most Valuable Metrics
1. Aggregate volume:
• Word count gives you negotiating power
• Number of projects shows the big picture:
• Which business units submit the most projects
• Which source/target languages are most common

25. Most Valuable Metrics
1. Aggregate volume (continued):
• Number of LSPs
• Where are the hidden translators?
• How many translate the same languages?
• Which business units do the same
same languages?

26. Most Valuable Metrics
2. Turnaround Time:
• Deadlines for:
• Internationalization (i18n)
• Translation
• In-country review
• Edits
• DTP
• Final deadline

27. Most Valuable Metrics
2. Turnaround Time:
•A clear idea of delays internally AND externally
• Metrics can pinpoint delays to help avoid them on
future projects
• Get realistic timeframes for future projects

28. Most Valuable Metrics
3. TM Analysis:
• Content reuse
• New words submitted, words matched
• Match rates
• 100% & partial matches
• TM match trends (time)
• Overall TM match savings ($)

29. Most Valuable Metrics
3. TM Analysis:
• Provide a blueprint of savings on each
project/enterprise-wide
• Quantifies the value of a centralized TM
(even if segregated by business unit)
• Time savings based on matched language pairs
• Amount being saved based on past project reusability

30. Most Valuable Metrics
4. LSP Performance Ratings:
•Based on common problems:
• Quality - number of defects per 1000 words
• Average delivery times
• Cost-competitiveness

31. Most Valuable Metrics
4. LSP Performance Ratings:
•Which translators are performing better than others
•Which translators are best suited for each specific project
•Better position to negotiate annual contract rates

32. Most Valuable Metrics
5. Cost savings:
• i18n costs
• Project management costs
• Translation costs
• Review costs
• DTP costs
• Accumulative cost
• Bid savings?

33. •$37 Billion industry
•28,000+ LSPs
•250,000+ Certified Translators
Bid it out!
Bid Savings
Bidding creates a buyer’s market!
Printing is also a
Commodity!
$72 Billion Industry
with 25,100 Printers

34. Process Optimization
Define your current process. Where do these metrics fit?

35. Process Optimization

36. Process Optimization
Contract pricing from the LSP – review the metrics to
prepare for next step

37. Process Optimization

38. Process Optimization
Bid stage – Use the LSP performance ratings to choose
the best translator for each specific project

39. Process Optimization

40. Process Optimization
Translation and review stage
•Ask your reviewer to answer these 9 questions:

41. Process Optimization
Translation and review stage – update quality metrics

42. Process Optimization

43. Process Optimization
Project completion stage: turnaround time
•Update your metrics and analyze the data
•Did a delay occur?
• What was the cause and how can it be avoided?

44. Process Optimization

45. Process Optimization
TM updates stage – analyze cost tracking metrics

46. Process Optimization
TM updates stage – analyze match rate metrics

47. Process Optimization
TM updates stage – analyze cost tracking metrics

48. Metrics Dashboard (Automated)

49. • 24-33% savings (average) 1st
year
• 40% second year
• Above 50% in third year
Measuring Savings
Where’s the Money?
20
30
40
50
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
% Savings

50. Review
What are the issues with the typical translation process?
Can current metrics solve the common problems?
The most valuable metrics for process improvement
Optimizing the translation process with comprehensive
metrics
Cost tracking metrics: measuring savings

51. Q & A Session
Questions?
Presenter: Scott Carothers
Scott@theTechnologyAgency.com
502.719.9555