Translation Quality Assurance Process

"The planned and systematic activities implemented in a quality system so that quality requirements for a product or service will be fulfilled." - American Society for Quality (ASQ)

You can think of quality assurance as the activities and management processes that are enlisted to ensure that the project delivers on the required quality level for the products and services provided. It is process driven and focused on the development of the product or delivery of the service.

The translation industry has shifted its emphasis to focus specifically on quality. The rates that are offered by the LSPs are somehow identical. It is easy to find doppelgangers when it comes to rates and it is therefore that the battle for quality has become paramount. We hear it everywhere. Providers struggle to assure it, clients offer to buy it and the industry always talks about it. At the end of the day the life of human beings, the development of a new innovative product, a fateful decision, a political resolution and so much more can fall on the shoulders of a qualitative and rigorous linguistic service.

At PoliLingua we follow strict processes to assure quality for our partners. We perform a series of operations that is based on our past experience that we found to be effective to assure the standards of a qualitative and professional service.

1. Project Details. Once a task is received all the details are double checked with the client: word count, language combination, source and target file type, CAT tool preference and relevant terminology. A clear and realistic deadline should be agreed upon and possible flexibility allowed in case a problematic issue appears.

2. Assure the resources. Once a client provides a list of details for a project, a translator who is a native speaker of the target language, with experience in the same field, is assigned to the project. Depending on the deadline and volume of work, multiple translators might be assigned to complete the task.

3. Perfect understanding of the task. At this point the task should be fully understood and should some questions arise about the content or context of the document, the client is contacted for clarification.

4. Arrange translation based on field. This step is important as each field has a different standard for quality. The linguist assigned has to possess a clear understanding of quality standards in a specific field of translation e.g. medical, financial, marketing, technical etc.

5. Proofreading. A revision method is usually used to ensure nothing is missing. If something looks off, the project manager is notified in order to maintain quality assurance in translation.

6. Use of a QA tool. SDL Studio Trados, MemoQ, Verifika and Xbench saves time and ensures that all errors have been corrected. These programs can also export proof of having performed the check, which is often requested by clients. A good QA tool will compare your translation with the source document to check for inconsistent translations, incorrect quotation, punctuation or spelling errors and repeated words or double spaces.

7. Project Manager’s sharp eye. One of the steps towards the finish involves the PM. The PM double checks the final product before sending it to the client.

8. Client’s review.  After the completed task is sent to the client, a feedback after the revision is requested. Should any changes need to be done, rapid involvement and assessment should be provided.

9. Keep communicating with your client. The final step to delivering a quality translation is to stay in communication with your client.

Note: Quality Assurance vs Quality Control

Quality assurance and quality control are sometimes confused with one other.

One of the key quality assurance principles that differentiates it from quality control is that quality assurance is performed during the project to ensure that the product meets the quality standards. Creating a Project Quality Management Plan, following a quality assurance process and performing audits will ensure quality assurance.

Quality control, on the other hand, evaluates whether the resulting product produced by the project met the quality standards. Quality control activities are performed after a product has been created to determine if it meets the quality requirements. The results of the quality control process are used by the quality assurance process to determine if any changes are needed in the quality assurance process.

At PoliLingua we guarantee you both Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Contact us today for a professional and qualitative linguistic service!