Our team recently worked on a complex technical translation request: a set of documents for a new customer who had returned to us after sending us a similar set to translate last year. That repeat business illustrated how happy the customer was with our approach to handling the documents the first time around. Here’s a brief look at how our in-house team rose to that challenge – and what exactly led to the customer coming back.
The scenario
In search of someone capable of handling a large technical translation project in multiple stages, the customer sent us a large set of production records for translation and revision, split over multiple batches to be translated consecutively. We immediately identified some key challenges:
- A huge amount of reference material to handle – somewhere in the region of 200 files in a host of different various formats (Word, Excel, PDF, screenshots and even handwritten notes)
- Many reference files in English only, making cross-referencing and searching for terminology a difficult task
- No explicit instructions from the customer on the priority of the reference material or how to navigate it
Large quantities of reference material are not uncommon in technical translation, but it was important that our team was able to identify which items were the most important to the customer and if they had any specific conventions they wanted us to follow. There were also some key challenges identified mid-project.
The challenges
- A technical issue meant that our team did not receive key bilingual reference material until the draft of the first batch was almost complete.
- The team needed to do extensive rework to align the technical translation with the existing reference material.
- Although the team immediately flagged up the issue, the customer seemed unaware of its significance or implications.
By working with the customer, however, it was possible to find some key solutions that worked well for both the translators and the customer.
The solutions
- The technical translation team requested and received specific feedback on the first batch, and a Teams call provided a forum for an open and honest discussion between both parties.
- The customer provided a list of specific reference files for the second and third translation batches, along with a priority list for additional terminology resources.
- The translation team clarified certain approaches in advance of starting work on batch 2 (such as inconsistent date and time formats in the reference materials.
- Everyone involved began sending more regular updates on future batches and time scales to ensure good time management and meet the customer’s expectations.
- The translation team created a reliable translation memory – a useful tool in technical translation projects – and is now using this for the next project.
This kind of active communication and expertise in complex scenarios are two examples of the powerful assets a good human translator can bring to a technical translation project – and they reassured the customer that their project was in good hands.
If you’ve got a project with similarly complex needs, we can help! Drop us a line on info@lktranslations.co.uk – or visit our LinkedIn page and DM us there.
