Translation Isn't Blind: Does quality even matter anymore?

Quality Lies in the Eye of the Beholder: But Does Quality Matter Anymore?

We all want our projects to kick off as easily as possible and without drama. While there are ways to implement steps to ensure we are taking the best route towards success when translating our content, it is always ideal to take a step back to consider what is worth the time and effort and what can be placed temporarily on the back burner.

We all agree quality of content is very important. We want our messages to resonate across the board and evoke meaning to our audience. As we covered in our discussion around internal review, the workflow you choose to implement should depend on how much time you put into creating the content of origin. And quality is no different!

When we think of the quality of our content it’s important to remember one thing: every person sees the world differently. We all have an individual and unique perspective that shapes how we see, understand, and absorb content.

Not all content is created equally.

Here are some questions to help you determine if your translated content is an ideal candidate for quality assurance when translating:

How much time and attention did you put into your source content? What resources and budget were put into your project? How source content was first developed and what is it meant to do? Where is the density for it to live once published?

“Some say translation quality is paramount, while others may say speed is more important. It depends completely on your initiatives.”

Evaluating the content you’re working with: data versus criteria.

We all want to deliver the best possible experiences and work to our end users.

To do that we must invest in linguistic assets to help ensure resources are being allocated responsibly. If your source content is great (also subjective; see how hard this can be?) we can branch our approach into two different paths to achieve a balance of cost and value:

1. Data-driven approaches include considering what the most important metrics are to your mission and how they drive business.

Do you value:

• Website views
• Product selection / popularity
• Revenue impact
• Addressable market
• TM leverage

Sit back and think: “Where does the bulk of my revenue come from" to better understand where your team can place the most value.

2. Criteria-based approaches is comprised of:

• Is the mission critical?
• Source content value
• Ownership and delivery
• Measurability

The criteria-based route includes any and all legal content, the main pillars of this approach include safety and life/death potential outcomes of copy being inaccurate, considering the technical impact on a business and revenue impact.

Sit back and think: “What was my source content intended to do? What was it’s destiny?”

Some end goals for you to consider include:

• Connection between translation and business outcome.
• Create competitive advantage.
• Get to market faster.
• Ability to reduce the number of people working on a project.
• ROI and less spend on projects.

Still unsure as to what to do? Smartling can help.

Smartling can boster your data driven analytics by accessing niche data to help make informed choices with our Global Ready Network.

If you’re interested in a cost-effective, cloud-based option that can help you eliminate the need to internationalize code, build site replicas and source global network servers for long-distance content delivery, book a meeting with our team!