© Michael Benis 2005 Tools of the trade – Using translation technology to meet your quality agenda ATC Conference London “Surviving and Prospering in a Changing Translation Market”

© Michael Benis 2005 A traditional promise….

© Michael Benis 2005 Quality is a problem! “Not only does it read badly, but the quality is extremely variable. In some cases the translation is completely incomprehensible.” “It’s English, but not as I understand it.” “I don’t expect to use it as it is – after all it’s only a translation.” “The translation industry speaks a quality jargon based on process and terminological accuracy – the absolute minimum. It doesn’t understand our needs…” “The translation industry is inward-looking and does not communicate effectively.”

© Michael Benis 2005 System Process Control (Deadlines etc.) File Integrity (Formatting/Tag Verification etc.) Terminological Accuracy + Consistency Completeness The QA pyramid

© Michael Benis 2005 System Process Control (Deadlines etc.) File Integrity (Formatting/Tag Verification etc.) Terminological Accuracy + Consistency Completeness Source Text Translation The QA pyramid

© Michael Benis 2005 A closed traditional QA model… QA looks back to the Source Text Source Text Translation

© Michael Benis 2005 Where does that leave the client ? Market Cultural differences ? Differences in industry practice ? Different expectations, fashions and trends ? Different branding ?

© Michael Benis 2005 It leaves the client with a potentially ineffective solution that represents poor value “JD Edwards (JDE), a billion dollar software company, found itself with a 290% ROI on its optimized content and translation processes but was delivering content that customers were using as doorstops and paperweights. In order to drive value to the customer (as well as to their bottom line), JD Edwards had to shift from a cost-based optimization model to a value-based strategy.” ClientSide News Announcing September 9 Workshop, San Francisco.

© Michael Benis 2005 Closed modelOpen model A paradigm shift Added value Feedback

© Michael Benis 2005 Where’s the translator in all this?

© Michael Benis Partnership Opportunities Industry Leaders Universities and Training Bodies Translation Technology Vendors Trade, Industry and Commerce Bodies Associations of Translation Companies EU / Government Initiatives Translators’ Associations

© Michael Benis 2005 CAT can link the supply side and client side CAT as a passive productivity tool CAT as an interactive quality tool CAT as an investment in quality by all parties

© Michael Benis 2005 CAT as an investment in quality Web-based CAT DB technology (offering greater control but requiring careful design and tight integration) CAT as a feedback and teamwork system CAT as a “training” system CAT as an interactive QA system

© Michael Benis 2005 What is required ? Web-based CAT DB technology (offering greater control but requiring careful design and tight integration) Interactive CAT QA functions CAT note systems CAT segmentation flexibility Collaborative training programmes e-Learning

© Michael Benis 2005 Questions ? …..

© Michael Benis 2005 Further reading… “Curriculum design and content delivery challenges in the organisation of effective translation technology courses for freelance translators” Paper by Michael Benis BA (Hons) FIL MITI eCoLoRe / MeLLANGE Workshop, University of Leeds, March Pages of the Proceedings available online at