This document discusses evaluating and planning for a system change. It outlines the current state which includes weaknesses like no process definition and bad data quality. Desired requirements are identified like quality management with KPIs and faster changes. Specific criteria for selecting a new system are developed focusing on documentation, on-boarding processes, and SLAs. The conclusions note the challenges of choosing a system and convincing people to change, but also the chances to clearly analyze needs and prevent past mistakes.

1. 1
Next! System Change as Opportunity
‘Nowadays, translating is not just a matter of finding the
right word, but also of using the right technology.‘
Karl-Johan Lönnroth, Ex-Directorate-General for Translation, European Commission

2. • Over ten years of system expertise and client experience
• Enable clients to create and translate content efficiently
• Independent of software and translation suppliers
• Select the best process and system solutions for our clients

3. Next! System Change as Opportunity
Kerstin Berns

4. 4
Why oh Why...?
Not up-to-date and
not reasonably
updateable
Cumbersome to use,
slow and complicated
No or only limited
access to data
needed
Management data
not available or too
hard to get

5. 5
New System – New Cry
We don’t have
the time, money
or people for this!
This is going to hurt!
How do we know,
a new system can
do all that?
Our data is our
capital, what if we
loose it on the way?
But it took forever
to make the system
do what we need!

6. 6
Evaluating System Change – Risk, Cost and Gain
- Cost of maintenance
- Unflexible, slow
- Cost of lost business
Gain from Invest – Cost of Invest
Cost of Invest
- Cost of system
- Leaner, faster
- Gain from new business
Not Changing
- Missing chances
- Loosing clients
- Loosing business
Changing
- Loosing data
- Low client satisfaction
- High internal workload
Losses * probabilities

7. 7
“Obviously there is risks when
changing system, but it’s
important to know and address
them. Also, it’s very important to
know that my ROI is going to be
positive. But what other gains
are there?”

8. 8
Gain within System Change = Making Things Better on the Way
CorporatePerformance
Time
GAP
What we
have to do to
close the gap
Where we
aim to be
Where we will
end up if we
do nothing
Dreaded
State
Where we
are now

9. 9
Action Plan to get to the Desired State
Draw-up current state
 Focus on important aspects
 Focus on finding weaknesses and strengths
Design desired state
 Loose superfluous steps and add useful steps
 Deduct system requirements and prioritize
Check and select future system
 Deduct criteria for system selection
 Reality check: cost and effort versus usefulness
Ask all relevant people the right questions – and listen well!
 How do they currently work, what is good/not so good?
 What do they need to be more successful?

10. 10
termcorrections
Clients
Translation
translation package
• languages
• schema
• workflow
quality check
Translation Management System
Statistics
• cost calculation
• agency selection
Questions to
agency
Translation
Memory (TM)
Translator D
Translator C
Translator B
Translator A
jobtoagency
File
exchange
Manual Check
System Check
OK
Linguistic checkTerm suggestion
Term Validation
(workflow)
Terminology Management System
OK
Terminology
DB
In Country Review
Term Localization
Agency A
OK
Export term
data
Export term
data
targetsource
translation job
(system)
translation job
(manual) manual
data export
dataexport
People
System
structure
Quality Tool Administration
rules
People System
People
System
Current State and Scope of Analysis

11. 11
termcorrections
Clients
Translation
translation package
• languages
• schema
• workflow
quality check
Translation Management System
Statistics
• cost calculation
• agency selection
Questions to
agency
Translation
Memory (TM)
Translator D
Translator C
Translator B
Translator A
jobtoagency
File
exchange
Manual Check
System Check
OK
Linguistic checkTerm suggestion
Term Validation
(workflow)
Terminology Management System
OK
Terminology
DB
In Country Review
Term Localization
Agency A
OK
Export term
data
Export term
data
targetsource
translation job
(system)
translation job
(manual) manual
data export
dataexport
People
System
structure
Quality Tool Administration
rules
People System
People
System
From Current Weaknesses to Future Requirements
No APIs for process control
- no country support
- no SLAs
no process defined
no feedback
process defined
- no generic interface
- no standardized format
no synch with term db/tms
bad data quality
no volume planning
no KPIs,
no SLAs for QM
high maintenance, low efficiency
REQ1 We need a quality
management with
KPIs, Dashboard...
REQ2 We need to make
changes faster
(languages, systems...)
REQ3 We need SLAs as well
as system and process
documentation
no process for secure translations
no process for new languages

12. 12
From Requirements to desired state
SYS QM-Process and
Dashboard
SYS Documented API
INT On-boarding-process
for new languages
INT SLAs with stake
holders
INT Process / System
documentation

13. 13
From Desired State to Specific Criteria for RFQ...
General
Criteria
Process
and System
Specific
Criteria
...to intelligent system selection and change.... and better processes!
System and Process
Documentation

14. 14
Conclusions
Challenges
 How to choose the right system  Analyze your (real) requirements
Chances
 Seeing your needs clearly  External consultation for unbiased view
 Analysis is time-consuming  Analysis prevents repetition of old mistakes
 Convincing the people to change  Change management from the start

15. 15
Last Words
‘It is not only the technology that changes.
Human behavior, thought and creativity also change
in an increasingly connected world.’
Chris Wendt, MT lead, Microsoft

16. http://www.berns-language-consulting.de/en
@blcTeam
Vielen Dank!
Thank you!
Kerstin Berns
+49 211 22 06 77 22
berns@berns-language-consulting.de