The presentation given in Warsaw at The Translation and Localization Conference 2015 on March 27, 2015.

1. Luigi Muzii
The
Rumble Seat

2. Agenda
 Standards
 Quality and the translation industry
 Quality management
 ISO/DIS 17100
 Requirements
 ISO/TS 11669:2012
 KPIs and capability statements
The Rumble Seat

3. Technical
standards
Make life easier
The Rumble Seat

4. Technical
standards
Ensure safety and reliability, reduce costs by
minimizing waste and errors, and increase productivity
The Rumble Seat

5. Process
standards
Ensure repeatability, efficiency, consistency, cost
reduction, and safety
The Rumble Seat

6. Quality and the
translation
industry
The fallacy of an all-time concept
The Rumble Seat

7. Quality in
translation
The unique selling proposition of the entire industry, a
sort of life vest to rely on, pretending confidence in
safety instructions
The Rumble Seat

8. Three basic
questions
 What do translation buyers care about?
 What is the impact of technology on translation
quality?
 Is the current TEP translation model still making
sense?
The Rumble Seat

9. A buyer’s
focal point
Buyers want to know what they spend for and for what
it’s worth
The Rumble Seat

10. Same
ingredients
To most customers, quality is a feature, just like color
in beer
The Rumble Seat

11. Quality as
USP
 Commodification of translation
 Priced on average and market conditions: the lower
the expectations for differentiation, the lower the
willingness to pay

12. Impact of
technology
The Rumble Seat
Translation technology’s impact is lower than the
spreading of computers and the Internet

13. Machine
translation
Online machine translation engines and freely available
open-source machine translation engines have actually
been disrupting the translation industry
The Rumble Seat

14. Translation
quality
standards
The general and stubborn application of unsuccessful,
overcomplicated traditional theories and models, prone
to subjectivity and fallacy

15. Differentiation Flexibility is key

16. Agile
lean
simple
explicit
practical
collaborative
adaptive
The Rumble Seat

17. Translation
A century-old practice: everybody knows it, very few
know how it works; with standards claiming to rule all
aspects under strict tradition
The Rumble Seat

18. TEP
outdated
serial
stiff
compartmentalized
sluggish
inefficient
The Rumble Seat

19. Quality
management
Basics
The Rumble Seat

20.  ISO 8402: 1987
 The totality of features and characteristics of a
product or service that bears its ability to satisfy
stated or implied needs.
 ISO 9001:2005
 Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of an
object fulfils requirements
 Requirement
 Need or expectation that is stated, generally implied or
obligatory.
 Characteristic
 Distinguishing feature
Definitions of
quality

21. Basic quality
management
 In 10 minutes
1. Write down what you do
2. Do what you have written
3. Substantiate what you have done
 After the presentation
4. Reflect on how to improve it

22. Process
approach
 Breaking down work into interrelated tasks
 Each task serving a specific goal
 Repeatability
 Maximizing efficiency in using resources
 Reducing variations

23. Pros and
cons
Repeatable quality Repeatability is not quality
–High degree of control Heavy initial investments
–Reduced impact Major maintenance costs
–Continual improvement –Bureaucratization
–Greater confidence Reduced flexibility
The Rumble Seat

24. Streamlining  Removing unnecessary or harmful activities
 Prevent errors rather than correcting them

25. Process
efficiency

26. Translation
quality
management
Another story
The Rumble Seat

27. Translation
standards
UNI 10574 Italy 1996 Requirements for translation and interpreting services
ATA Taalmerk The Netherlands 1997 Requirements for translation services
DIN 2345 Germany 1998 Requirements for translation contracts
ÖNORM D 1200 Austria 2000 Requirements for translation and interpreting services
ÖNORM D 1201 Austria 2000 Contracts for translation and interpreting services
SAE J2450 U.S.A. 2001 Translation quality metric
ISO 12616 International 2002 Translation-oriented terminography
GB/T 19682 China 2005 Target text quality requirements for translation services
GB/T 193636.1 China 2008 Specification for translation services
EN 15038 E.U. 2006 Requirements for translation services
ASTM F2575-06 U.S.A. 2006 Quality assurance in translation
ASTM F2809-01 U.S.A. 2006 Requirements for interpretation services
CAN/CGSB-131.10 Canada 2008 Requirements for translation services
ISO/TS 11669 International 2012 General guidance for translation projects
ISO/DIS 17100 International Requirements for translation services
ISO/WD 14080 International Assessment of translations
ISO/CD 18587 International Requirements for machine translation (MT) and post edition
levels

28. Aspects of
quality
(Melby)
 First Linport Symposium (2011)
 Translation quality is relative
1.Transcendent quality
 Accuracy and fluency
2.Manufacturing quality
 Compliance with specifications
3.User quality
 End-user satisfaction (dissatisfaction expressed in terms of
specifications)
4.Value quality
 Price comparison only meaningful between two providers who can
deliver according to same specifications
5.Social quality
 Societal harm (related to specs)
The Rumble Seat

29. Translation
quality
(Melby)
 ASTM F2575 – 6 (2006)
 The degree to which the characteristics of a
translation fulfill the requirements of the agreed-upon
specifications
 First Linport Symposium (2011)
 Translation quality is relative
 A quality translation follows specifications that are
appropriate to end-user needs, avoiding social harm, at
the lowest available cost, without compromising needed
accuracy and fluency
 MQM (2012)
 A quality translation (1) demonstrates required
accuracy and fluency (2) for the audience and purpose
and (3) complies with all other negotiated
specifications, taking into account end-user needs
The Rumble Seat

30.  Error typology is seen as being static and unable to
respond to new text types or varying communicative
situations (Sharon O’Brien)
 Subjectivity
 Time
 Inappropriate use of linguistic resources
 Learning curve
 Technology
The error-
catching
approach

31. Quality is when the buyer or customer is satisfied, yet
quality measurement in the translation industry is not
always linked to customer satisfaction, but rather is
managed by quality gatekeepers on the supply and
demand side who have specific evaluation models
based on counting errors, applying penalties and
maintaining thresholds with little, if any, interaction
from customers.
Quality
measurement
(TAUS)

32.  Error
 Deviation from a benchmark for rule violation
 Metric
 A method of measuring errors
 Quality
 Degree of deviation from a predefined threshold of
errors
Defects,
errors,
metrics and
quality

33. Six Sigma
Level Acceptability
Defects per
million
1 30,9% 691.462
2 69,1% 308.538
3 93,3% 66.807
4 99,38% 6.210
5 99,977% 233
6 99,99966% 3,4

34.  2 incorrect landings per day at major airports
 7-hour power failure per month
 15,000 urgent packages lost per week
 5 minutes of only non-drinkable water every day
 5,000 incorrect surgical operations per week
 200,000 wrong prescriptions per year
1% defects

35. Caution!
In a 10.000 word projects, the seemingly minute
difference between 99,38% and 99,99% means 62
errors, 2 errors every three pages, compared to only 1
in total
The Rumble Seat

36.  Subtractive
 Counting errors with possible final score
 Error subtraction
 Rating percentage
 Gravity
 Weight
 Additive
 Counting items that meet requirements
Metrics

37. ISO/FDIS 17100
Translation Services — Requirements
for translation services
The Rumble Seat

38. Vienna
Agreement
 Between CEN and ISO
 Primacy of international standards
 To avoid duplication of potentially conflicting standards
 ASTM not an ISO member
 ASTM F 2575-14 still in force
The Rumble Seat

39. General
structure
 Exclusively focusing on the implementation of the
conventional translation process
 Revision by a second person
 Requirements considered in the TSP’s view
The Rumble Seat

40. Requirements
vs.
specifications
 Requirements
 Provisions of this standard, other standards or legal
regulation
 Specifications
 provisions involving the translation service or project
originating from the client, the TSP or other sources
The Rumble Seat

41. Scope
 Requirements for all aspects of the translation
process directly affecting the quality and delivery of
translation services
 Management of core processes
 Minimum competence requirements
 Availability and management of resources
 Other actions

42. Outside the
scope
Use of raw output from machine translation plus post-
editing

43. Basics
TSPs must demonstrate conformity of specified
translation services to the standard and capability of
theirs processes and resources to deliver a translation
service that will meet the client’s and other applicable
specifications.

44.  A documented process in place to ensure that the
people selected to perform translation projects have
the required competences and qualifications
 Record the basis upon which the professional
competences of translators, revisers, reviewers and
other professionals have been demonstrated
 A process in place to document that the
competences of their translators, revisers, reviewers,
project managers and other professionals are
maintained by continuing practice, and regularly
updated by training or other means
Human
resources

45.  Competences
 Translation competence
 Linguistic and textual competence in the source and the
target language
 Competence in research, information acquisition and
processing
 Cultural competence
 Technical competence
 Domain competence
 Credentials
 A recognized graduate qualification in translation from an
institution of higher learning
 A recognized graduate qualification in any other field from
an institution of higher learning plus two years’ full-time
professional experience in translating
 Five years’ full-time professional experience in translating
 A certificate of competence in translation awarded by an
appropriate government body
Competences
and
credentials

46.  Identifying the key requirements and translation project specifications during the pre-production
process and following the procedures and specifications throughout its production
 Supervising and monitoring the translation project preparation process
 Assigning a competent translator or translators to the translation project
 Assigning a competent reviser or revisers
 Disseminating information, issuing instructions related to the assignment and management of
the translation project to all parties involved
 Monitoring to ensure compliance with agreed schedule and deadlines
 Monitoring constant conformity to the client-TSP agreement, project specifications and, where
necessary, communicating with all parties involved in the project, including the client
 Managing and handling of feedback
 Verifying that the translation service specifications have been complied with before approving the
translation and giving clearance for its delivery to the client
 Delivery of the service
 Assigning a competent reviewer or reviewers to the translation project
 Implementing corrective measures and/or corrective action
 Monitoring to ensure the project does not exceed the agreed budget
 Preparing and issuing the invoice
 Completing other activities or tasks agreed with the client
Project
management

47.  Translation project management competence can be
acquired in the course of formal or informal training
 Basic understanding of the translation services
industry
 Thorough knowledge of the translation process
 Mastering project management skills
Project
managers

48.  Technical equipment required for the efficient and
effective completion of translation projects, and for
the safe and confidential handling, storage, retrieval,
archiving and disposal of all relevant data
 Communications equipment including appropriate
hardware and software
 Information resources and media
 Tools such as translation technology, translation
management systems, terminology management
systems, and other systems for managing
translation-related language resources
Technical
resources

49.  All agreements
 Each accepted translation project
 A log of each project
 All assignments
 Information concerning linguistic specifications
Record

50. Translation
workflow
(Annex A)
Enquiry and feasibility

Quotation

Client-TSP agreement

Handling of project-related client
information
Project preparation
Translation

Check

Revision

Review

Proofreading
Final verification and release

Post-production processes

Feedback

Closing administration
Account manager Project manager
Linguists Various

51. Weak points
 Reaffirmation of the serial traditional process
 Strong emphasis on ISO/TS 11669
 Not applicable to processes involving MT
 Responsibility for sub-contracted processes
 No clue on how to achieve quality and measure
performance
 No metrics whatsoever
 Only vague reference to SLAs

52. Collection and detailing
Requirements

53. Clients and
projects
Customers/projects are what providers/managers get
from them (and vice versa)
The Rumble Seat

54. A bidirectional
route
 The final outcome of a project depends on the
quantity and quality of information exchanged by the
customer and the vendor
 The more the vendor understands the customer’s
needs and expectations, and translate them into
requirements, the more it will be able to meet them

55. In 5 minutes
 In 20 words
 Name and describe your service
 Name and describe your customer’s product/service
The Rumble Seat

56. A document containing a detailed indication of the
characteristics required to satisfy a contract.
Requirement
specification

57. Goal
 To form the basis of the agreement between the
customer and the supplier
 Allow the supplier to use most suitable resources and
prepare a workable plan
 Determine whether the delivered product meets the
customer’s needs

58.  A clear and comprehensive description of the basic
conditions for the service
 Workload
 Expected results
 Characteristics of deliverables
Content

59.  Information, objectives and customer requirements
 Project summary
 Closed-ended questions
 Key points
 Keywords
 Guiding questions
 Directing search for understanding
 Bringing the interviewee to tell you what you want to
know (goal)
 Do not repeat the same questions (wrong communication)
 Combine analogical language (suggestion) and digital
language (precision)
 Previous unsuccessful solutions
Developing a
requirement
specification

60.  Information for the assessment of deliverables
 Metrics and scorecard
 Criteria (KPI)
 Weights (to settle assessment deviations)
 Measurements
 Scores
 Comments
QA

61. In 5 minutes
 Pick up a scorecard
 Name 5 basic translation requirements
 From the buyer’s perspective
 From the provider’s perspective
The Rumble Seat

62. Sample
scorecard
Languagepair
Subject
Purpose
Contenttype
Special
regulations
Audience
Style
Format
Technology
Weight Score Requirement
The Rumble Seat

63. ISO/TS
11669:2012
Translation projects — General
guidance

64. 42 pagesLength

65. Goal Improve communication among all relevant
stakeholders in a translation project

66. The target content [must] be readable in the target
language and correspond in some way to the source
content
Basic and
implicit
specification

67. Requesters and TSPs should work together to
determine project specifications
Basic
assumption

68.  The quality of a translation — from a workflow and
final delivery perspective — can be determined by the
degree to which the target content adheres to the
predetermined specifications
 Quality translation projects and quality translation
products result from developing and following
appropriate project specifications
Quality

69. Scope
 Guidance concerning best practices for all the phases
of a translation project
 A framework for developing structured specifications

70. Use of
specifications
 Attached to a legally binding contract or to a
purchase order or other document supporting the
request to define the work to be done
 The starting point for all assessments, both
qualitative and quantitative
 Translation parameters
 Set of key factors, activities, elements and attributes
of a given project used for creating project
specifications

71. Vendor
selection
Requesters should first define the preliminary project
specifications, then choose an appropriate TSP that
meets the needs of the project (i.e. applying a
structured specification approach to translation
projects and having the necessary competences)

72.  Competences
 Language proficiency
 Professional experience
 Technology proficiency
 Credentials
 Degree in translation
 Certification from a recognized body
 Language proficiency certification
 Language immersion
 Evidence of ongoing professional development
 References from previous work
 Samples of previous work
Competences
and
credentials

73. Roles
 Translators
 Revisers
 Reviewers
 Project managers

74. Translation
parameters
21 key factors, activities, elements and attributes of a
given project used for creating project specifications

75. Parameters
 Linguistic (13)
 Source content information
 Source characteristics
 Specialized language
 Volume
 Complexity
 Origin
 Target content information
 Target language information
 Audience
 Purpose
 Content correspondence
 Covert vs. overt
 Register
 File format
 Style
 Layout
 Production (2)
 Typical production tasks
 Additional tasks
 Environment (3)
 Technology
 Reference materials
 Workplace requirements
 Relationships (3)
 Permissions
 Submissions
 Expectations

76. Process
 Traditional TEP
 Prone to introduce new errors at any step rather than
removing them
The Rumble Seat

77.  Terminology work
 Pre-production
 Ends when both the requester and the TSP have agreed upon the final
project specifications
 Source content identification and preparation
 Preliminary project specifications
 Translation parameters
 TSP selection
 Final specifications
 Approval of specifications
 Production
 Preparation
 Initial translation
 In-process quality assurance
 Self-checking (or post-editing), revision, review, final formatting or compilation,
and proofreading
 Delivery
 Post-production
 Requester-managed post-delivery inspection
 Acquiring end-user feedback
 Incorporating end-user feedback into the specifications
Phases of a
translation
project

78. Strengths
 Shared specifications
 Legally binding specifications
 Accessible specifications
 Assessments based on specifications

79. Pitfalls
 A legacy of the typical academic training in
translation
 Restating the traditional information asymmetry
between customers and suppliers
 The customer is supposed have the same skills interest
as the vendor for translation and its technicalities
 No indications for developing binding agreements
 No reference to SLAs or SoWs
 No hints on developing quantitative measures
 No guidance for review
 Classical trial and error approach
 The long list of parameters makes room for introducing
surreptitious, vague, and subjective evaluation criteria

80. The result Mashed by stiffness and overhead
The Rumble Seat

81. Requirements Simple, straight, realistic, exhaustive, verifiable to use
as checklists
The Rumble Seat

82. KPIs and
capability
statements
Flyers and landing pages
The Rumble Seat

83. CSF for the
localization
industry
CSF Area Variable
Price Production Cost of service
Delivery Production
Shipping capacity
Project management
Quality of service Production
Investments
Analytics
Customer service
Production
Customer service
Quality of service
Maintenance costs
Flexibility
Vendors
Production
Peaks of demand
Planning ability
Financial independence
Finance
Production
Sales
Cash flow
Image Staff
Resource development
Human capital
The Rumble Seat

84. KPIs in a
showcase
 EVA (Economic Value Added)
 A measure of real economic value a vendor adds to its
business
 Customer satisfaction
 Customer satisfaction index
 Corporate reputation
 Customer retention rate
 Quality index
 DIFOT (Delivery In-Full, On-Time) rate
 A measure of the vendor’s delivery reliability
 FPY (First Pass Yield)
 The percentage of units coming out of a process with no
rework
 Rework level
 Percentage of units requiring rework
 HCVA (Human Capital Value Added)
 A measure of the extent to which staff add value to the
business
The Rumble Seat

85. Capability
statements
 Snapshot of your company
 Introduction to your business
 Client needs to be able to see what you do at a glance
 Highlights your companies unique features
 Stick to the facts – Right, tight, and bright – KISS
 Flyer
 1 A5 page (two-sided)
 Constantly updated
 Target audience
 Landing page
The Rumble Seat

86. KPI
Capability
statement
(front)
The Rumble Seat
Logo
Contact
details
Company profile
Capabilities
Facilities, equipment and
resources
Performance
Main customers
Finance Processes
Sales Human Resources
Areas of expertise, services, subject field(s)
Technologies, certifications, accreditations,
licenses, clearances, awards
Vision, mission and value statements,
competitive advantage (how the company
distinguishes itself and why it is better
positioned in the market against competitors)
According to subject field

87. Capability
statement
(rear)
The Rumble Seat
Logo
Management policies
Social responsibility statement
Strategic partners
Contact details
Testimonials
Management
Financial policy, innovation strategies, data
security plans
Environmental practices, employee relations,
community participation