Software Localization

Our project managers have the experience and ability to communicate and make pragmatic decisions to ensure that every project is completed on time and to the highest quality level possible. We follow internationally recognized ISO procedures and combine MS Project with our own web tracking system so that at any one time a full status report is only a click away. For an overview of a typical software localization workflow click the icon below.

We work in close collaboration with our client to compile an industry-specific terminology database and we also use comprehensive style guides to coordinate grammar, punctuation and general writing style. Normally the style guides are based on our templates or those provided by the client.

These two measures help to ensure that the final product is as consistent and easy to understand as possible. In particular, where multiple translators are working in parallel, a terminology database and style sheet form two key ingredients for ensuring terminological and stylistic consistency throughout a product and its documentation.

Not to be confused with machine translation, Computer Aided Translation (CAT) software is a generic term for various software productivity products which prevent translators from having to translate sentences more than once. There are many tools on the market, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. The product we use most often is Trados however, in certain circumstances, other products are more appropriate, e.g. Deja Vu is more suitable for translating Excel tables and Logoport is suitable were files contains a very high leverage and many translators are working in parallel. We are familiar with a variety of products and this enables us to be flexible in terms of the projects we manage. Furthermore, the time and effort that we save in not having to translate repeated sentences can be passed on to our client as a cost saving.

Often web sites and web application incorporate graphics that include text. Following translation, the length of the translated text is often longer than the original. We can provide clients with fully localized graphics which display perfectly in the target language. Graphics file formats that we can convert include Macromedia Fireworks, Adobe FrameMaker, QuarkXPress, Freehand, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, jpeg, gifs, animated gifs, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PageMaker, Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Shockwave and Macromedia Director.

During translation we proof all translated material to ensure that consistency is maintained across multiple translators and that no translation errors or typos have crept into the translated files. This is an integral part of our project management workflow and is applied to all texts that we translate no matter what size it is. Our translators are provided with quick feedback and this mechanism creates a learning effect in longer projects which contributes to faster turnaround time without any adverse effect on linguistic quality.