The Interview – A sneak peek at what’s to come at LavaCon 2015

The premier conference for content strategists, documentation managers and other content professionals is just around the corner. LavaCon 2015 is heading to New Orleans, October 18-21, where over 80 sessions and workshops will be taking place. There are 90 speakers lined up, one of which is our very own Managing Director of North American, Shannon Rose Farrell. She will be presenting with Shamus Dermody, Client Solutions Director of XTM International on “Translation Quality and the Global Review Cycle: People and Technology”. A few words from Shannon leading up to LavaCon 2015 and her presentation with Shamus:

People and Technology. What does this mean for translation quality?

Shannon Rose Farrell: We all know the importance of translation quality and “getting it right the first time.”  In this presentation, we aim to focus on how people and technology play a key, joint role in achieving this goal of supreme quality.  The human-factor is still very present within the translation process and this needs to be acknowledged and addressed.  What we will be showcasing is how this human-factor can actually be enhanced, controlled and measured through the proper use of translation technology systems.  Neither can act alone and produce the quality we demand at the speed that our world works.

What topics will your presentation encompass?

SRF: Shamus and I will run through a series of areas related to achieving translation quality within the global review cycle. We will explain how to successfully integrate Global Review into Translation Management Systems (TMS) and the lessons we have learned along the way. We will also go through best practices for linguistic quality assurance and how to best obtain translation quality metrics – this is a key element in today’s enterprise translation programs. Our goal is to give our audience a clear idea of how people and technology work together to achieve the desired quality results.

What is it that you want the audience to take away from your presentation?

SRF: That translation quality is not a mysterious “black-box” but a real and attainable asset, achieved through finding the right translation and technology partners to help you get there.  More on how it can be done, will be revealed during our presentation.

And to wrap things up one final question – what hint can you give readers today about achieving translation quality?

SRF: Translation quality requires adaptable teams of experts and technology to meet the ever-changing market requirements. Quality actually starts even before translation begins, starting with the authoring of the source content. Make sure that your content is written with translation and localization in mind – simplified content strategies where appropriate while keeping in mind global interpretation of your content.  There are so many tools out there, it’s just finding the best balance and the right fit!

Shannon and Shamus will be presenting “Translation Quality and the Global Review Cycle: People and Technology” on Wednesday, October 21 at 2.45pm. If you are also heading off to LavaCon, then stop by our booth and say hi to the rest of team. See you there!