4. L10N: Software Localisation: what, who and how? (4/5)

When it comes to the people usually involved in localisation projects, there are several possibilities depending on the localisation scenario – who leads the project, which tools are used, etc. A software localisation project can be led, for example, by:

A software development company:

Software development companies are increasingly dealing directly with localisation companies in order to integrate internationalisation and localisation in the development process of their software applications. Usually, large software development companies have specific departments for software development, for project management or quality control, and even for in-house translation and localisation. In such a scenario, several professionals can be involved, e.g.:

• Vendor managers: responsible for all business relationships with localisation companies and vendors
• Localisation managers: also called project managers, they are responsible for the coordination of current localisation projects and finally for the timely localisation of products
• Quality Assurance (QA) department: responsible for the effective performance of all quality-related activities – this implies looking for problems or bugs in the language and might also include functional testing – and for providing evidence that all localised components received from the localisation company meet the standards
• In-country language reviewers: These reviewers do not perform editing or proofreading, but focus instead on technical consistency, completeness, and use of agreed terminology and language standards. In-country language reviewers are usually in contact with the lead translators from the localisation company for questions, etc.

People involved in localisation projects in these companies are very similar to those working on localisation projects for software development companies. The only difference is the physical location: working teams of affiliated companies normally come from and are located in the countries of the product’s target market.

Localisation companies are specialised localisation and translation service providers that could additionally perform activities such as functional testing, document authoring, etc. People who can be involved in a typical project at localisation companies are e.g.:

• Account managers: they represent the bridge between the software development company and the localisation company, and are responsible for contract negotiations, finances, quality control issues, etc.
• Project managers: responsible for scheduling localisation projects, assigning tasks and preparing resources, communicating with clients and translators, monitoring project progress, budget, etc.
• Localisation specialists or senior translators: responsible for defining style standards and terminology to be used in a localisation project, for reviewing the work of in-house or freelance translators, for maintaining translation memories, etc. Often they also have to perform other activities such as user interface resizing, etc.
• Proofreaders or QA specialists: These specialists proofread translated software, online help, and documentation files, focusing not only on the translation quality but specially on the final linguistic quality of the whole product
• Localisation Engineers or Testing Engineers: responsible for all technical aspects of localisation projects – preparation of project files, software and online help engineering, compiling translated files and testing all software functionalities, creation of screen captures in the target language for online help or documentation files, etc. Some of these tasks are often performed by project managers.
• Others: There are other specialists such as CAT Tool specialists (responsible for correct and efficient use of CAT tools) and DTP (Desktop Publishing) operators responsible for layout of printed and online documentation) that may also be involved in localisation projects led by localisation companies

In this scenario, external localisers are usually in charge of all localisation project tasks and have to deliver the complete translated software to their client company. In the case of external translators, they are responsible for the translation of those localisation project components delivered by localisation or project managers working in a software development company or in a localisation company. (Adapted from Esselink, 2000)

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