Quality Standards, Tools and Metrics March 31, 2013 OmarAly & NohaSayed

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Agenda Quality Concepts Importance of Quality Expertise, Skills & Qualifications of Professional Translator/Localizer Quality Challenges and How to Overcome Project Requirements Quality Tools Quality Standards Quality Evaluation Metrics CAT Tools Effect of Bad Quality on the Arabic Market

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Quality Concepts What is Quality? Quality is all about meeting the needs and expectations of customers ISO standard defines quality as "the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs." “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives” William Foster

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. What is Quality assurance (QA)? QA refers to “any systematic process of checking to see whether a product or service being developed is meeting specified requirements.” What is Quality Management System (QMS)? It is the system by which an organization aims to reduce and eventually eliminate nonconformance to specifications, standards, and customer expectations in the most cost effective and efficient manner. Quality Concepts (Cont.d)

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Importance of Quality Customer level Customer Satisfaction Good reputation Increased sales of localized product Increased revenue and profits Company level Loyal customers who can market for the company Increased revenue and profits Good reputation Gaining new customers Competitive edge Company growth

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Expertise, Skills & Qualifications of Professional Translator/Localizer Expertise Mastering source and target language In-depth knowledge in the respective field Mastering computer assisted-translation (CAT) tools Localization-specific expertise (knowledge of the functional part of the product to be localized) Skills Search & research skills Term coinage skill Qualifications Has a good style (suitable to field) Accurate

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Quality Challenges and How to Overcome Quality ChallengeHow to overcome Tight time- Optimal resource allocation - Focusing on the main requirements.e.g. style for the marketing material) Low price- Automation Unqualified Translators & Localizers - Training - Development - Practice

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Project Requirements Understanding the project requirements is a must for good quality: Instructions Resources required Tools Tasks required Deliverables

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Quality Tools Quality Tools are one of the pillars of good quality. The most popular QA tools in the field are: Xbench Linguistic ToolBox (LTB) Error Spy Verifika Other client developed & customized tools

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Quality Standards EN 15038:2006 This is the “The European Quality Standards for Translation Service” It’s the standards that establishes and defines the requirements for quality translation services by TSPs (Translation Service Providers). It aims to unify the terminology used in the translation field, define basic requirements for language-service providers (human and technical resources, quality control, and project management) and create a framework for the interaction of customers and service providers in terms of their rights and obligations. It also defines certain services, in addition to translation, that may be offered by language-service providers.

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. LISA QA metric is one of the most common models that can be used to structure the feedback given by reviewers on the quality of translations. In the LISA QA metric, errors are categorized per severity level as Minor, Major or Critical. Measurement Formula (1000 w (7 points allowed = Pass)) Severity Levels – Critical Error (= 7 points) Any statement that can be potentially offensive. Any error that endangers the integrity of data or the health/safety of users. Quality Evaluation Metrics

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Severity Levels – Major Error (= 5 points) Confuse or mislead the user. May cause the users to stop using the product. Appears in High Visibility portion Any un-translated part Most of mistranslation and terminology errors Quality Evaluation Metrics (Cont.d)

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Quality Evaluation Metrics (Cont.d) Severity Levels – Minor Error (= 1 point) Any error that does not mislead the user. Most of them (but not all) are spelling, punctuation and style errors.

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Quality Evaluation Metrics (Cont.d) Error Categories – Accuracy Incorrect Cross-references Incorrect translation Wrong omissions & additions – Language Grammar Punctuation Spelling

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Quality Evaluation Metrics (Cont.d) Error Categories -Functional Error Format Tags/Links Technical Error -C ountry Company standards Country standards Local suitability

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Error Categories -Style Client Style guide General style Language variants/slang -Terminology Context G lossary Inconsistency Quality Evaluation Metrics (Cont.d)

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. CAT Tools Mastering the advanced level of the CAT tools is a must to produce a professional translated output in a suitable time. The most common CAT tools are: Trados Passolo Idiom Catalyst

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Effect of Bad Quality on the Arabic Market Lose (You) Lose (Company) Lose (Society) - Clients - Company reputation - Hard currency - Money - Work (client/company) - Your reputation -Money - Reputation of the Arabic market - Hard currency

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Recommendations -Kindly do not sacrifice quality for any reason -Kindly respect this historical profession -Kindly do not undervalue the price and effort of your job -Kindly be a professional FL

© 2012 Arabize ltd. All rights reserved. Feel free to contact me any time for any comment or question at: Omar Aly Language Development Manager Q&A