In the course Localization Project Management, I grouped up with 5 classmates to implement a localization project throughout the semester. We chose Hyperbolic Magnetism, an indie game studio based in Czech Republic, as our client in this project, and our goal was to localize the press release of one of their games Beat Saber into six languages.
Our workflow in this project can be divided into three phases: pre-production, production, and post-production.
The actions in the pre-production stage are listed as follow:
- Setting up our LPM office by creating Trello checklists and Dokuwiki pages for our team, the client, and the project
- Creating specification template and draft the specification for our project
- Creating quote template and quote for our client
- Setting up talent screening standard and search for talents for our project
- Creating translation projects, TM, and TB in Memsource for the translators
- Creating WO and PO templates
- Drafting the general style guide for six languages
- Sending the translator’s kit (including the translation project, TM, TB, WO, PO, and style guide) to translators
The actions involved in the production stage are listed as follow:
- Translating: translate the source document into six languages in Memsource and export the deliverables
- Editing: run QA check and spell check, ensure terminology matches the term base, check for accuracy and fluency of the translated text
- Proofreading: run spell check again, check for correct number and formatting
- Conducting final verification: confirm the formatting and naming of the files are correct
The actions in the post-production stage are listed as follow:
- Updating TM and TB
- Handing in the deliverables to the client
- Sending invoice to client and translators
- Having post-mortem meeting the the team
Among all the things I’ve learned from the project, one thing really stood out from my perspective, which is the importance of paying attention to details. This lesson is learned via two challenges we encountered in our project.
First of all, we had to use Top Tracker to track our time while working on the project so that we could distinguish billable and non-billable time. However, when we reexamined our time record, we noticed that sometimes we didn’t create a new time slot when we switched from one task to another. This made it difficult to determine the exact time we spent on certain tasks, which undermined our creditability while charging the client for our time spent on billable working hours.
In addition, while we were in the proofreading stage, a segmentation issue popped up. We didn’t notice this issue because the translations seemed fine when viewed as a whole. However, if we adopt the problematic segmentation, it will mess up the translation memory. Therefore, we had to fix the segmentation to avoid troubles with the TM in the future. As a result, we did a lot of rework during the TEP stage and spent a decent amount of extra time on the project, which will definitely increase our cost.
In hindsight, we should have been more careful with details in every stage in our project. We should have been more mindful with the activity labels in time tracker, as it will affect our ability to back up our invoice to the client with organized time record. We would not have to redo our translation if we had examined the translation project more closely while we were on it. In short, I realize that the best way to carry out the localization project efficiently is to be careful with the details in the first place.
Finally, although there are some small bumps along the way, I truly enjoy working with my teammates. Even though the workload was formidable and sometimes stressful, our team managed to pull off the project by supporting each other. When everyone is willing to go an extra mile for the team, a strong sense of trust is developed among us. Therefore, we can count on others to do their parts and won’t be afraid to ask for help. In short, this is exactly what dream team is like. I would love to apply what I’ve learned about teamwork in this project to my future work.
