Usually, there will be a deadline fixed by the client. When receiving the quote, some clients like to get a detailed planning as well. It might be a good idea to send a draft plan for the project including each step, its respective deadline and the resources allocated to it.
It is now that you will check on the availability of the human resources you want to use in the project. Be as realistic as possible. Remember that you do not have to perform each step serially – for example, revision can start during the translation process.
You can again organise your work into units – for example:
- translation – 2,500 words on average per day. This may vary according to the level of specialisation. For a 50,000 word project you will need 20 days for translation if you’re using one translator or 5 days if you’re using four.
- handling screenshots – 4 to 8 on average per hour
- revision – 5,000 or even 7,500 words on average per day, depending on the degree of specialisation
In LTC, all the deadlines, tasks and resources assigned to a particular project are graphically reflected in the Project Scheduler. For the PM, this module is very helpful as it offers a detailed, colour-coded breakdown of all the tasks in a project (see the Project Scheduler). Nevertheless, the infomation contained in this module will be harder to grasp for a non-specialist, such as your client.
At this stage it is easier to produce a simple Word table or an Excel file containing the same information which will be easily recognisable by your client. Similar results can be achieved by using other PM tools such as Microsoft Project.