Introduction: This portfolio is a summary of what we’ve learned from the Translation Management System (TMS) course. It includes the description of a group project I’ve participated in, lessons learned through the project, and my personal ideas on how I would like to design a different translation management system.
The course covers general concepts behind TMS software. Using the SDL WorldServer web-based TMS, students were able to explore the functions and features of a translation management system from the point of view of a translator, project manager and administrator.
A pilot translation project for Foreign Affairs Journal
Basic Information
Client: Foreign Affairs Journal
Language Service Provider: Fish&Chips Localization.Inc
Source Files: Abstract of three articles posted on the website of Foreign Affairs Journal
Source Language: English(US)
Target Language: Chinese(ZH); Spanish(ES)
Word Count: 905(en-zh); 289(en-es)
Translation Management System: SDL WorldServer
The Use of WorldServer in This Project
WorldServer has been applied to each phase of the project, from preparation to finalization. For the preparation, WorldServer was used to create locales, workflow, workgroup, cost model, quality model, translation memories (TM), TM group, term database (TD), TD group, and project.
For the production, WorldServer was used to assign translation files to translators, translate files, and do quality assurance. For finalization, WorldServer was used to deliver products, inform the client and update TM and TD.
Obviously, with a TMS, the project workflow can be automated once the project is launched, all the related parties of this project can check in at any time to view or submit tasks, and relevant data can be updated in real time.
While using a TMS like WorldServer can bring the benefits listed above, not every step went smoothly as we were trying to incorporate WorldServer with our project.
Challenges and Solutions
- Project Creation
Launching a project needs a series of steps, which can be buggy since the localization engineer needs to set up everything from scratch without forgetting any tiny step or ignoring the sequence of these steps. When our team has set up everything and finally reached the project creation step, we got the following message:
(Error Message from WorldServer)
To fix this, we first thought there might be some errors in the setting of workflow. Did we forget to add assignee when we were setting up the workflow?
Then we added a new workflow role (see the screenshot below), but the creation of our project still failed. We were guessing, there must be somewhere in the workflow that allows us to change the setting of assignee.
(Setting New Workflow Role)
It turned out that when setting up the workflow, in the human step, i.e. translate/review, engineers can set the properties including who should be assigned to this step.
(Setting Human Step Properties)
It took our group a long time to figure this out, since we could not find much clue about this from WorldServer itself. For any project, large or small, spending much time on fixing bugs can be frustrating, which may arouse a question: do we need to use a TMS for a small and urgent project?
- Translation and Review
If a translator logs onto WorldServer, he/she can claim the assigned task, and start translation using WorldServer’s workbench. Translators can click on the “complete” button after finishing translation and the file will automatically go to reviewers’ task list. Similarly, reviewers can start QA checking using WorldServer’s workbench and deliver the file after completion. In WorldServer, the interface of translation workbench and the review one are the same, and once click on the “complete” button, translators and reviewers can no longer see the tasks through their portal.
We believe these may cause some troubles when translators or reviewers want to double check their work or track their task history. The reviewer’s workbench can also be problematic since QA check is different from translation. Features like adding notes, tracking changes, giving scores, identifying error patterns may be more helpful to a reviewer than the current feature, which is editing.
Reflection
What to consider when choosing a TMS?
Questions like “Should we adopt a TMS for your project/company?” “Which TMS should I choose” really don’t have exact answers. Based on the readings I’ve done this semester, there are several aspects you may consider when selecting a TMS.
(Thing to consider before choosing a TMS)
How would I like to design a TMS?
So far, I have worked with such TMS tools as WorldServer, LingoTek and XTRF. Some CAT tools, for example Trados and Wordfast, also have features related to translation management as they can perform tasks like automated file passing, and TM sharing.
These TMS tools have many great features such as access to server-based translation memories, terminology repositories and portals, customization and automation of translation workflows. But I’ve also discovered some defects as I’m using them.
Besides the issues mentioned above, WorldServer requires a dedicated installation environment and is very processor-intensive. It also has a limitation on supported web browsers and java versions. Additionally, WorldServer stores its data in an SQL database, which requires plenty of memories in a computer and data manipulation skills for people working with WorldServer. So, using such tools requires a huge amount of resource, including resource spent in educating people working with them.
TMS tools are mostly used by project managers in translation/localization industry, as it’s powerful in streamlining the workflow of a complex translation project. But vendors, clients, even developers can get involved in these projects. Many tools provide portals for vendors or clients, but few provides portals for developers. As you can tell from our pilot project, TMS like WorldServer works for processing such non-technical source files, as such localization does not involve developers.
The fact is, however, many products to be localized are websites, APPs, and software. Internationalization engineers need to get strings ready for translation separately. The exclusion of developers may make them unfamiliar with workflows of a localization project, and lead to a more tedious and disjointed cross-team cooperation and communication. Therefore, a developer-friendly TMS offering various APIs for developers to leverage would greatly benefit the seamless localization of a product.
TMS tools today are mostly set up on computers, not mobile devices. As tracking project progress and communication are important to project managers, it would be more convenient if there’s simplified version of TMS APP featuring tracking data, viewing progress, receiving instant notification, sending messages or even making phone calls. This should be helpful for project managers managing a team across time zones.
The world is transforming from mobile first to AI first, TMS tools need to embrace AI. Although some TMS tools have already made it possible for integrating various machine translation APIs, leveraging the power of AI is more than that. For example, an AI-driven TMS can make more accurate analysis and prediction, users will get a clear view of clients’ preferences, vendor’s strengths or weaknesses, thus, greatly improve the decision-making process.
(You can access our project files from here.)
