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SDL_ig_TTI_Research_Quality_160616

The importance of qualityWhen we asked respondents to specify the relative importance of quality, speed and cost for translation projects, quality came out clearly on top:

Survey scopeWe had 2,784 respondents across 115 countries and in 9 languages, from translation professionals across the entire translation supply chain – enterprises, corporates, government bodies, language service providers and freelance translators.

1. Prioritise terminology managementThe research findings together with the rapid advancement of technology would suggest that embracing terminology management is one of the easiest ways to take quality control to a new level.

* Unless otherwise specified, all results in this eBook come from the SDL TTI survey of more than 2700 people in the translation industry. For further information, see the survey executive summary at www.sdl.com/tti or www.translationzone.com/tti

Even for cost-conscious corporates and LSPs (language service providers, or agencies), quality is

4xmore important than cost.

Quality is

2.5xmore important

than speed 6x more important

than cost

Quality

$£¥€ $£¥€

Quality

Speed Cost Cost

See the full survey results here

Corporates: www.sdl.com/tti

LSP: www.translationzone.com/lsp/tti

Freelance Translators: www.translationzone.com/fl/tti

Nearly

2/3(64%) of those polled have to do rework.

Percentage of respondents required to do rework based on third party feedback

But quality is also hard to achieveWhilst quality is so important, it can be hard to get it right first time.

48% 44% 31% 27% 24% 17%

Terminology inconsistencies

Styling Translation inconsistencies

Translation doesn’t sound natural

Formatting and tagging

errors

DTP problems

Terminology is the top challengeInconsistencies in the use of terminology emerged as the top cause of rework.

Always Often Rarely Never

Frequency of feedback

4% 3%

58%Frequency of feedbackConstructive feedback on the quality of translation is rare (or non-existent) for 61% in our study.

35%

4% Formal, standardized assessment

59%

24%

37%

4%

35%35% No measures/ill-defined measures

24% Qualitative feedback 37% Mixed

measures

59% either don’t measure translation quality at all, or use ill-defined or purely qualitative assessment.

Quality Assessment: All respondents

56%

Three ways to improve translation quality

say that terminology management is a priority

Requirements

Rules Standards

Regulations

TransparencyLaw

Policies

Standards

Governance

2. Familiarise yourself with existing standardsIf, like the majority of our respondents, you find that you know little or nothing about the formal quality standards used in the translation industry, take some time to learn about them.

3. Embrace an objective approach to measuring qualityChoose a specialised assessment tool to take the subjectivity out of measuring quality.

SDL’s Translation QualityAssessment (TQA) is such a tool.

Define what quality is (which might vary in different contexts).

Measure (and analyze) translation quality

consistently over time.

Clearly indicate where and why any translation falls short

of the defined criteria.

SDL Translation Technology InsightsResearch Study 2016A comprehensive survey investigating the role of technology in the translation industry and how it is helping to shape the future.

Insight 1: Quality