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in documentation

The challenges…

As an activity, translating acts at the intersection of a number of tasks critical to your business including the production and management of documentation, knowledge management, web site and/or intranet management, quality assurance, production nomenclature for machine tools, parts lists and stock management, etc.

Although translation sometimes helps shape other activities, in most cases it is itself shaped by these (needing to take account of engineer’s nomenclature, sales reps’ deadlines, etc).  By not isolating the various phases of the translation process but instead considering them as features of the documentary flow process offers measurable advantages when it comes to quality, deadlines and cost.

A high-performance translation department, whether in-house or external to your company, offers you far more than just “simple” translations, and the required investments often have the potential to bring unimaginable benefits.

FXM’s contribution

Benefiting from solid experience in project management where multilingual documentation is concerned, FXM provides its in-depth knowledge of the tools, procedures, resources and market for multilingual communication, in addition to its network of specialists in a wide range of industry areas.

Examples of our activities:

Drawing up schedules of conditions

• removing false expectations;
• identifying and anticipating pitfalls in order to prevent nasty surprises once a project has started;
• defining requirements so as to avoid limiting the creative input of suppliers, while at the same time retaining control;
• ensuring a realistic planning of activities;
• identifying potentials for synergy.

Research and assessment of textual and terminological resources

• analysis and evaluation of internal resources;
• creation of translation databases and dictionaries;
• quality criteria definition, application and measurement methods;
• updating procedures.

Identification and assessment of software tools

• targeting potential suppliers;
• “deciphering” marketing documents;
• assessment checklists carefully adapted to project requirements;
• testing.

• Which features should be taken into account to ensure that we take the right decision?

• How should we assess each component?



When it comes to setting up an internal translation department:
• what are the required skills?
• which tools need to be made available to translators?
• how do you define assessment and selection criteria for a computer-aided translation tool?
• how should terminology be managed?
• how should document flows be managed?
• how can the translators’ activities and resources be integrated for the benefit of the whole company?
• what is the best way to control the costs of an internal translation department?
• how can translators be rescued from the “too much or too little” scenario?

When using an outside supplier:
• what is the best way to select the supplier?
• what services should we expect?
• which aspects need to be taken into account when assessing prices?
• what sort of information should be provided to him to obtain the best result?
• why and how should the supplier be integrated within the company’s processes?
• how to get the most from services over and above their initial purpose?
  
  

How should an existing department be optimised?

• can the way the department operates be improved?
• under what circumstances should computer aided translation (CAT) be used?
• how can the integration of the service within the company be improved?
• how to get the most from the department’s services over and above translations?
• what is the best way to introduce a “translation” function on the intranet?
• can automatic translation software be useful for us?

…  to mention just a few examples.

Solving your problems and challenges is our speciality!