In the first part of this two-part series, we discussed the importance of accuracy to achieve quality translations, including the use of subject matter experts and involving the right translators and reviewers who understand terminology, technical instructions, and units of measurement. In this second part, we’ll discuss some strategies for ensuring accuracy in technical translations.
Accuracy in technical translations begins well before a document is submitted to a translator. It starts with ensuring the right team is involved and communicate regularly with one another. For large technical translation projects, we suggest a kick-off meeting. Kick off meetings are not just for discussing schedules and delivery dates. They are also for discussing important, quality related topics:
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- Who are the native speakers of the target language among on the client’s staff who will be involved in the process (the Client-Side Reviewers)?
- Who are the subject matter experts among the client’s staff to assist with technical terms that could cause difficulties in translating the material (the Subject Matter Experts)?
- Are there any previously translated materials that can be used as references by the translation team?
- How can the translation team, the Client-Side Reviewers and the Subject Matter Experts best communicate to ensure accurate translation, including measurement unit conversion (if needed), proper use of technical terms, and overall understandability of any technical instructions?
The collaboration between the translation team, the Client-Side Reviewers and the Subject Matter experts typically results in:
- An agreed-upon terminology list for the translators to apply. This ensures consistent use of approved terminology right from the start.
- An early build-up of translation memory through the importing of existing translations into the translation memory system. This allows translators to re-use previously approved translations of words and phrases, saving both time and expense.
- Clear lines of communication, which allow the translation team to ask questions during their work, avoiding translation mistakes caused by things like terms with multiple definitions, unique definitions or unique abbreviations, acronyms, etc. used only by the client company, etc. This, of course, ensures quality and accuracy the first time, with little or no re-work.
And, of course, where a client does not have a Client-Side Reviewer reviewer on staff, early collaboration allows the translation team to find an appropriate subject matter expert reviewer to make sure the finished work will meet expectations.
Vocalink Global’s Translation Quality Assurance process is designed with accuracy in mind. For technical translations, our team ensures that the right subject matter expert linguist is paired with each project. Through our Vu Translation Management Platform, we ensure the lines of communication stay open between our client, any Client-Side Reviewers, Vocalink Global’s Project Manager, and all linguists working on the project.