Quality standards in the industry have come a long way. They have evolved over the years, but their focus on quality definitions based on errors and metrics has remained the accepted wisdom. Expectations of end users are changing. Every piece of content has a job to do, and it is often to touch the heart of users rather than just the mind by delivering information that is accurate and whose quality is measurable. A new “quality evaluation paradigm” is emerging. This calls for a new profile for translators, one that is different from what has been typical for the past few decades. This presentation will look at this trend in more detail, considering how to test these new types of translators fast and effectively. What matters in this emerging quality model and what does it possibly mean for DQF?
2. People
Enthusiast
Deliver user experience
(as a part of the localized product)
Localizer
Deliver translated content adapted for
the specific locale
Translator
Convey the message from one language to another
People – their roles have changed over a time but they have always been and always will be the key players in our industry.
Translator ->linguist, master of language ->
Goal: convey the message from one language to another
Localizer ->linguist with computer literacy, understanding of the code (tags) -> goal: deliver translated content adapted for the specific locale
Enthusiast ->loves and knows the product inside out;
Critical skills:
Cultural knowledge both of the source and target language markets
Good knowledge of everyday spoken language and idiomatic expression
Able to perform independent research
Active and enthusiastic users of social media platforms
-> goal: deliver user experience (and localized product)
Traditional content to translate…
Typical segmented text – words; complete / uncomplete sentences; descriptive; standard grammar / style / register with a few exceptions; repetitive sentence/structure models.
Text in all forms - idioms, puns, everyday language, connotations, jokes, slang expressions = Excellent comprehension skills in the source language,
In order to manage something, we need to understand it. We need to understand WHAT is wanted from us. Are we expected to deliver translations that are perfect in aspects?
Perfect in all aspects (Regulated domains):
Clear. Exact. Structured. Correct lingua. No errors/issues.-> quality layers to ensure all of these incorporated in the timeline.
Or must our deliverables be „just“
Accurate. Adapted to the given locale. Meaning conveyed. Right and consistent terminology. Correct grammar. Fluent. Right tone of voice. No broken tags. -> quality levels
Or is it about tapping into the emotions the source provokes and enabling the product user to enjoy the same emotional experience while making use of all of the product qualities?
Criteria of success
Once we understand what is wanted we must know how to evaluate if the expectations have been met. In localization we talk about quality. And quality might have several forms:
Linguistic quality:
Looking for issues in the translated content. Measuring how many errors are found per # of words? What errors matter? Are all errors always of the same importance? TAUS DQF.
Or Usability, which is an attribute of quality.
It’s a common mistake to equate usability to user experience. User experience = emotional experience
User experience is how you feel about every interaction you have with what’s in front of you in the moment you’re using it.
Looking Ahead:
People – correct mix of profiles. % of non-linguists growing. Recognition, feeling valued ranks higher than financial compensation.
Tools – context availability. Communication and collaboration. Likes and votes. Feedback tools and loops. Automated QA checks.
Tools that allow for defining grammatical variations while translating.
Communication – Count errors vs. Measure satisfaction/Let user decide
Perform LQA (typical format: out-of-context string review). Look for issues. Categorize, count and weigh them differently across contents. Monitor trends. Penalize and incentive translators. Meet KPI.
LQAs vs. In-context review vs. Linguistic testing.
Simulate user experience, both with product and emotional experience. Issue typology could be similar to LQA on a master category level, different on a granular level.
Vs. „good grammar is not all that matters“ = perfectness of the translation is not as important as the effect on the target audience/product users.
Clients have their internal tools to measure user experience and engagement, which subsequently is used to evaluate appropriateness of the localized strings.