Best Practices for In-Country Review

Tatiana Harrison, VP of Sales and Operations

Client Reviews

But a poorly designed and executed review process can become a time sink, and making meaningful use of the results can require a lot of additional effort.

• Common with mid- to large-size translation buyers

• Required in some verticals

• Client review is a recognized best practice

Why Review Translations?

In-country review is a best practice in producing high-quality localized products, but not everyone has the same goals and drivers.

• Quality assurance

• Brand protection

• Regional buy-in

• Regulatory compliance

• Risk mitigation

So Why Does the Review Process Fail?

• Reviewer doesn’t have the right skills

• Timelines for review not realistic

• Reviewer doesn’t have time to spend on the task

• Reviewer doesn’t understand the importance of the task

• No defined process

• No defined scope for the review

• Lack of reference/support materials

• Reviewers change with each project

What Is the Impact of a Failed Review Process?

• Additional time and cost on both sides to resolve misleading comments

• Slipped project timelines, resulting in lost revenue

• Lack of consistency in feedback from one project to the next degrades branding and linguistic quality

• Loss of control over the corporate message

• Reduced TM leverage due to limitations in how the linguistic assets can be used

• Unfounded stress and uneasiness about the company’s translation solution

How Can You Improve The Review Process?

First and foremost:

Know what you are trying to achieve with your review process.

If you don’t have a clear objective, the process is likely to fail!

Types of Reviews – Areas of Focus

• “In-house” review

–Control brand and company messaging

–Quality check from trusted resource

• Technical review

–Ensure that technical information is conveyed correctly

–Recommended for projects that involve highly technical or scientific content

• Legal review

–Compliance with local market laws

• 3rd-party review

–Risk mitigation (e.g. regulated industries like medical)

–Checks and balances for translation vendor

When to Review – Project Stages

• Terminology review

– Happens at the front-end of a translation project

– Feedback and agreement on core terminology before the full content is translated

• Early “sampling” review

– Takes place while translation is underway

– Provides early warning of significant linguistic issues

• Translation review

– Takes place post-translation but pre-production

– Focus on content only – significantly easier to implement changes at this point

• Final review or acceptance review

– Takes place post-production, when product is presumed to be “final”

– Keep in mind that major changes at this point require significant rework

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Who Makes a Good Reviewer?

The Right Person for the Job

• Good writing skills in the target language

• Good understanding of the source language

• Can properly represent the company’s brand and voice

• Appropriate level of technical knowledge relevant to the subject matter

Other Considerations for Reviewers

• Try to use the same reviewers from one project to the next

–Promotes familiarity with agreed terminology

–Avoids inconsistent feedback and stylistic flip-flops

–Builds rapport and trust with the translation team

• “Reviewer” is rarely a full-time role

–Is the time allocated commercially realistic?

–What is the plan if the review isn’t completed as scheduled?

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Best Practice for the Review Process

Define the Scope of the Review

What should the reviewer look for?What is “out of bounds”?

• Spelling, grammar and word-choice errors

• Technical accuracy

• Branding issues

• Non-branding stylistic elements

• Legal issues

Provide a Foundation for Success

Provide good support and reference materials to the reviewer

• Approved terminology

• Style guide

• If no target-language style guide, is there one for the source-language?

• Codify language- or country-specific guidelines

• Source-language content

Define the Platform for the Review

How is the review performed and how should changes be communicated?

• On-line system that supports review

• Modification of source files (use change-tracking)

• Marked up PDF

• Marked-up hardcopy

• Overly summarized feedback

Options:

Avoid:

Define Who Has the Final Say

• Is there a rebuttal process in place?

• Is the translator allowed direct communication with the reviewer?

• If the two sides can’t agree, who has the final say?

• Do the rules change with different types of content?

• Do the rules change with different types of review or with different reviewers?

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Summary of Best Practices

Best Practices for Review

• Define the goals of the review cycle

• Identify the right reviewer(s) and use them consistently

• Define the scope of the review

• Define the process and mechanism

• Set realistic timelines

• Define an appropriate rebuttal process

• Promote direct dialog between the translator and the reviewer (in language)