Bilingual Team Writing: Planning a Project  

A two-person bilingual writing team enabled a software application development group to produce on-line documentation and a user guide simultaneously in two languages. Team writing in an international environment requires detailed planning, constant monitoring, and continuous communication in order to succeed.

MacKay, Brenda. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Project Management>Localization>Collaboration

Closing the Content Gap: Converging Authoring and Translation  

As companies strive to improve themselves by rethinking their global content strategies and redesigning these for the new world of continuous and multilingual deployment, they must unify their authoring and translation processes--not an easy task. Fenstermacher explains why authors and translators should work to close the content gap that often exists.

Fenstermacher, Hans E. Intercom (2007). Articles>Content Management>Translation>Localization

Enabling Language Translation with XML Tools and Standards  

Maintaining consistency between a source document and its translated counterparts can be complex and troublesome. Innumerable challenges can arise with character sets, version control, text in graphics, tables, expansion of text, updates, and so on. Using XML for translation can help overcome some of these challenges. In this article, I explain how XML tools and standards can help remedy tricky issues related to translation.

Schnabel, Bryan. ComTech Services (2003). Articles>Content Management>Localization>XML

Managing Large Localization Projects With Virtual Teams around the Globe  

Managing a large localization project into multiple languages with virtual teams around the globe requires careful planning and solid processes to ensure successful completion of the project within time and budget. It also requires shared responsibilities by all parties, strong technical and administrative support, daily project tracking, and excellent communication channels and norms to ensure performance and collaboration.

Warren, Marie-Anne and John Mulligan. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Management>Localization

Multilingual Publishing with a Content Management System  

Sheds light on the benefits of using a content management system (CMS) when publishing in multiple languages. Included are tips for shopping for a CMS, managing unique character sets, and managing the translation process.

Freeman, Bret. Intercom (2006). Articles>Content Management>Localization

Multilingual Websites with Open Source Content Management Systems  

Open source content management systems can be installed free of charge on an entity's servers or web hosting account, and provide a way for organizations to develop multilingual web sites. There are some challenges in finding a good open source content management system, but there are several that can fit a variety of needs. An example CMS is Plone, which has strong support for different languages, and which also integrates tools for managing the translation of content.

Kelsey, Todd. Association for Business Communication (2006). Articles>Content Management>Localization>Language

Organizational Preparation for Efficient Localization  

This panel will examine upstream activities that can make the more effective and efficient use of both resources and budgets. Panelists from software and hardware corporations will address questions about preparing organizations for localization.

Moe, Kevin R., Elizabeth G. Nichols, Nancy Niland and Deborah Rosenquist. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Project Management>Localization

SAPHelp: A Multilingual Authoring Tool  

SAPhelp is a proprietary authoring tool for documenting and translating on-line. It allows development, documentation, and translation to function concurrently. Its documentation structure lessens the need for redundant storage of texts. It provides version and authorization control and assigns work to authors and translators.

Ladd, Dennis D. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Content Management>Localization>Machine Translation

Single-Source Content Management   

More and more businesses are expanding into international markets. A critical success factor for this expansion is high-quality, cost-effective and timely translated written content. Responsibility for this typically falls on internal translation departments or localization partners. Translation comes at a high price, exceeding the cost of writing the original content after only a few languages.

Trotter, Paul. tekom (2006). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Localization

Translation Management  

Translation management is becoming a common task for the technical writer as companies enter the global marketplace. It is challenging and interesting, but at the same time it is generally a complex project management task and is not to be taken lightly. This paper discusses a real-life translation project and points out some of the problems that you may encounter.

Tunsley, Roger A. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Language>Localization>Project Management

When You Need to Localize and Categorize

Internationalization -- or 'I18N', a very geeky abbreviation referring to the number of letters left out -- is commonly defined as a set of practices intended to make software more 'localizable' by introducing layers of abstraction in the code and the data of an application. That way, it is easier to later modify the language, currency, date, and number format according to the requirements of a specific locale.

Donner, Christian. CMSwatch (2006). Articles>Content Management>Localization

Dynamic Publishing Makes Creating Localized Communications Easy

International growth is the target for most small companies and is indeed essential in many industries if you want to compete and thrive in this global economy; however, international expansion brings many challenges, especially in terms of communication. For example, how do you implement consistent, global communications that maintain your brand identity, values, and messaging while still allowing for local markets and cultures?

Malagnac, Stephanie. Dynamic Publisher, The (2008). Articles>Content Management>Localization>XML

Anticipating the Impact of Content Convergence  

The nature of content has been undergoing a profound shift in the past several years, beginning with single-sourcing efforts and continues as the need for portable content increases. The portability of content is not a manufactured need, but an extension of the trend to create, manage and deliver content in more efficient ways. In turn, this shift affects content development and delivery, particularly localization, which feels the impact of source-language changes exponentially.

Bailie, Rahel Anne. Multilingual (2009). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Localization

Intersection of Content and Translation Management  

In today's global economy, multilingual communications are the conduit to multinational revenue profiles and global brand recognition. Buyers in countries large and small are increasingly demanding local language materials as a condition for purchasing products. Laggards that deliver multilingual products and services late to regional markets lose market share and see their global brand fragment and decline in value. Multinational business demands that organizations redefine the value of content to drive global customer experience, increase customer satisfaction, promote brand awareness and consistency, and support time-to-market goals.

Ciarlone, Leonor. Multilingual (2009). Articles>Content Management>Localization>Translation

Content Management and the Production of Genres    

In this paper, I suggest that granularized content management introduces as-yet-unexplored issues to genres of technical communication. I argue that content management, while it can, as advertised, free content and make it easy to reuse that content in multiple genres, that flexibility can create new problems for genres and genre systems, leading to problematic reuse, inflexible genre systems, rigid and proprietary genres, and uncritical internationalization.

Clark, Dave. ACM SIGDOC (2007). Articles>Content Management>Genre>Localization

Taming the Translation Alligator: Or How to Facilitate Document Translation without Getting Eaten Alive  

When the cost for translation on support documentation for a foreign sold machine continues to go up, what can be done to minimize the cost of this EU mandated requirement?

McDowell, Elizabeth C. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Content Management>Translation>Localization

Effective Update Management in the Localization Process  

Whether one is localizing documentation or translating Web sites into multiple foreign languages, managing updates is a major component of the localization process. Content development often involves constant updates. Therefore a localization methodology must have the infrastructure to manage change seamlessly, efficiently, and accurately. It must also offer complete flexibility to accommodate each project’s unique schedule, requirements and development cycle.

Shapiro, Tom. STC International TC SIG (2003). Articles>Content Management>Localization>Translation