Translation Project Management: A Client's Guide to Working with LSPs

You may think that once you partner with a Language Services Provider (LSP) you don’t need to understand the process they go through to translate your content. And, to a degree, you’re right, but there are reasons why it’s good to understand the process.

At LinguaLinx, we recognize the translation process improves when our clients feel “in-the-know.” The relationship tends to be smoother, and our clients are more at ease, allowing them to concentrate on their core business.

So, in this post, we won’t go into the kind of detail that would bore you, but we will touch on the key areas so you’re better informed and know what to expect from your LSP’s project management process.

Who’s Leading the Team?

Your translation project manager will be your team leader. They’re the person who puts the resources together, considering all the forms of media or engaging different translators with subject matter expertise in the breadth of documentation that makes up the project.

They’ll handle the budget, milestones, and deadlines to ensure everything happens in the right order, keeping the project flowing smoothly.

They should also be looking after your business's interests beyond just the project. They can consider both your short-term and long-term language goals and see how best to help you achieve them economically.

The Translation Process

This is the basic process the project manager will guide you through:

• Planning and strategy – What are the details of the project? The languages, the media (is it just text, or is there audio, video, or imagery content?), how much content is there, what type of content is it (public facing or internal), when is the deadline, and all the other details that’ll determine the type and amount of resource needed. Will it be largely human translation, AI-powered machine translation, or a combination of the two?
• Preparation – The resources are put in place. Linguist experts in your industry are brought on board, any other professionals needed for the project  - such as localization experts, voice-over artists and engineers, and designers who’ll do any desktop publishing (DTP) to make the new content fit in a print or digital platform – are lined up and briefed.
• Content gathering – All the project’s content is gathered and checked. Is it accurate in its current language? If there is audio and video, original files are sourced, access to website files may be needed, and any other elements that will come into play during the life of the project are gathered.
• Translation – The translators work on the material, which then goes to other linguists to review, edit, and send back to the translator with any suggestions. This amends cycle happens until the whole translation team is happy that the content is a faithful representation of the original material.
• Quality Assurance (QA) – The QA process is a final review from the LSP team to ensure nothing has been missed. It considers all the content in the project as a whole, and ensures accuracy and consistency.
• Client review – Your content arrives back with you for final sign-off. You’ll want to sense-check it, make sure it’s visually on-brand, and do any spot-testing of your own with people who speak the language.
• Project review – This is between you and the project manager to see how the project went. Did the process work? Is there anything that needs to be amended for future projects?  

Certification: Your Guarantee that the Process Works

How do you know this process will get you an accurate translation? Language services isn't your industry, and in business, some people talk a good talk but don't walk the talk.

Unfortunately, as the client, you might be thousands of dollars and three months down the road by the time you realize that your LSP’s project management process is below par. The right certifications are your guiding lights towards the safety of an LSP that puts its money where its mouth is.

What are the right certifications? ISO 17100 and ISO 9001.

17100 demonstrates that an LSP has a process that produces an accurate translation.

9001 is industry-agnostic and shows that a company has a Quality Management System (QMS) that they follow for every project.

Put Your Trust in Your LSP

If you do your homework on LSPs, you’ll soon find one that fits your business. They’ll have a good project manager who can walk you through all the details that are specific to your needs.

They’ll consider media forms and languages, book the right resource, and guide the project through the translation and QA process until finally delivering the new content that you’ll personally approve. Simple as that, now you’re “in-the-know.”

Get a Quote for Your Translation Needs

If you’re looking for a quote for a translation project, we’d love to sit down and talk with you about it.

Consultations are free and there’s no obligation.

With Lingualinx, you won't ever have to worry about your message getting lost as it’s translated. You know you're in good hands as we’re ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 compliant, have over twenty years of professional translation experience, and have earned the trust of organizations around the world.