Client Checklist: Important Questions for Translation Projects

This document presents a comprehensive checklist of questions designed for clients embarking on translation projects. It covers various critical aspects, including defining project objectives, such as the intended final product and the target audience, and determining the appropriate language(s) and translation styles. The checklist also addresses budget requirements, emphasizing the importance of setting a realistic budget and deadline, and the creation of a detailed project inventory to manage files effectively. Furthermore, it highlights the significance of organizing source files, including image files, and establishing clear review requirements with internal or external parties. The document also provides guidelines for defining timelines, incorporating estimations for translation, proofreading, editing, image production, and review periods. Finally, it stresses the need for effective project management, outlining the roles of key decision-makers and project managers, and establishing clear communication channels to ensure the project's success.

Questions for the client to answer
The following generic checklist is applicable to virtually all translation projects. Many of our clients
Project Objectives
 Define the overall goal or objective of the project. What do you intend the final
product to be?
 Determine who needs to/will be involved in your selected team.
 Determine the target language(s) and/or the particular dialect(s) (e.g. Mexican
Spanish, South African English…)
 Determine what type of audience will be reading the translations? Youth,
technical, maternal? Income level: lower, middle or upper? Technical or
general audience?
 Determine the translation styles. Again, if you can pinpoint the style of the
translation or tone of the material to be translated, it will save you time and
money as your project reaches its audience: for literary styles, marketing
styles, official or even legal styles. Each of these requires a specific translator
that is qualified for the subject matter. Choosing the wrong translator could
result in a message that is poorly conveyed to the target audience.
Project Budget Requirements
 Determine the overall budget of the project.
 Determine the deadline for project submission
 Consult with your translation agency on possible savings opportunities for your
project.
 Determine override allowances.
Project Inventory
 Create a Master File List or inventory of all the files to be translated in your
project. Remove or identify any files not to be translated. With modern
translation tools the thoroughness of the translators is exceptional and if you
do not specify translatable versus non-translatable content it may result in
thousands of dollars in extra costs. We have seen project costs and timelines
double due to a single set of files included in a project that should have been
removed.
 Separate and classify files in your inventory by type. This will help you
organize and prioritize which files are completed first. This will also allow you
to set the project flow and optimize your resources allocated to the project.
Source Files
 Organize all files in which there is a source file. For instance, image files may
have been created using one of today's valuable tools (Illustrator, Photoshop,
Fireworks, etc.) and then outputing a file (JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, etc) for
utilization in your final product. Without the original source files you would
have to re-create the original source of the file(s). Providing these original
source files can save substantial amounts of money and time.

 Place a content freeze on the source files for the duration of the entire project
(all updates to the files for localization should be done prior to its initiation).
With modern translation tools it is very simple and cost effective to return to an
updated document and translate the new material. It is very difficult however,
to translate consistently changing materials. Be sure to "freeze" the content in
your source files for the duration of the project or at least treat updated
materials as a separate project.
Image Files
 Identify and inventory all image files that are going to require translation. Many
web sites use graphics for navigation and page elements. These images will
sometimes require translations and preparing for this in the beginning of the
project will save time.
 Gather all the source files for the image output. Many graphics for web sites
and published documents contain graphics that use a master graphics file as
its template. Often these files are Photoshop or Fireworks files.
 Organize and prepare the original source files as stated above.
Previous Assetsproject. These materials may consist of:
 Translation samples
 Previous translations
 Previous translators
 Translation memory
 Graphic files
 Other miscellaneous collateral
Review Requirements
 If you are having your materials reviewed by an internal or outside (third)
party, it is important to identify them at the beginning of the project. Contact
them and discuss your expectations and the requirements that will be given to
them.
 Consult and educate your internal reviewers on their role in the project and the
expected objectives of the project.
 Request adequate time commitments from your internal reviewers. Having a
deadline missed because of internal reviewers not on the same priority
schedule happens frequently. Make sure your internal reviewers understand
their responsibilities.
 Translation is very subjective in nature. Be sure to explain to your internal
reviewers the demographics, styles, and targets of the translations that you
are expecting.
Define Timelines
 Develop an estimated timeline for the project including milestones and goals.
Basic guidelines are as follows:
o Translation: 1250-1500 words per day
o Proofreading: 4000-5000 words per day

o Editing: 4500-6000 words per day
o Image production:
 Easy graphics: 8-10 per hour
 Moderate graphics: 5-8 per hour
 Difficult graphics: 2-5 per hour
o Review period: 4000-6000 words per day
o Final revisions: 4000-6000 words per day
 Consult with professional translation agencies on how to conform timelines to
exterior schedules.
Project Management
 Define the key decision maker for your project.
 Define the role of the project manager for the project and the expected reports
and returns for the life of the project.
 Define contact intervals and reporting mechanisms between all participants
involved with the project including:
o Translators
o Editors
o Proofreaders
o Graphic artists
o Third party reviewers
(Adapted from http://www.iwtservices.com/resources/setupchecklist.htm)