Phase 1: Commissioning
The initial step of any project, from the project management perspective, is a request for quotation. At this point, the client’s requests, especially in terms of time and deliverables, are assessed and evaluated to determine a rate per word. In this case, the project was a 20,000-word technical document that needed to be translated into Arabic. The client also requested a glossary of key terms to be provided along with the finished text. After evaluating the volume of the translation, the agreed-upon timeframe for delivery, and the technical nature of the order, the manager set the rate per word to 0.68 SAR for a total of 13,600 SAR.
Phase 2: Planning
During the project’s second phase, the manager evaluated the previously agreed-upon terms again. This allowed me to prepare a schedule and a work subdivision plan to ensure that the client’s requests were met. Since a glossary was not provided, assigning a translator to prepare it was necessary before the translation of the text itself could begin. Furthermore, a quality assurance plan was drafted, specifying, in particular, that the established glossary should be followed exactly.
Phase 3: Groundwork
The groundwork phase primarily consisted of overseeing the creation of the project’s glossary and preparing a translation memory. The latter would be important as the work on the text had to be split between two translators. Moreover, the original text had to be prepared for translation by isolating the translatable text from formatting information.
Phase 4: Translation
During the fourth phase of the project, work proceeded as planned, with daily updates on the translation being sent to the client. This communication allowed the client to detect an issue with the translation of one of the technical terms, whose meaning was ambiguous in the context of the full text. With guidance from the client, the issue was quickly corrected, preventing additional work as the term was repeated multiple times.
Phase 5: Wind-up
The wind-up phase was mostly dedicated to quality assurance and review of the finished work. As this was a technical text, ensuring the translation’s compliance with local standards and the translation glossary was a particularly complicated step. After samples were provided to the client, he requested minor style-related revisions that were completed without further issues.