What would we do if we get a big translation project, e.g. up to one million words with a short deadline, let’s say only 1 or 2 months?
Of course, the answer is building a solid team that consists of reliable and qualified translators. Once the team is built, then we need to prepare the “tools” that will help us to build effective communication, data traffic, etc. So, what tools are they?
1. Google Apps
Google Sheet. This app can be used to make a list of the translators involved, list of files, the deadline (combined with Google Calendar), the word count, the total fee for each translator, etc. With Google Sheet, we can easily track which files are finished, who are still translating, etc.
Look at the sample form of Google Sheet here
Google Drive. In order to make the data traffic easier, we can use Google Drive. There, we should make some folders, such as Source folder, Target folder, Reference folder, Revision folder, etc. Under those folders, there should be subfolders for each translator for the sake of easy management. As an alternative, we can also use Dropbox.
Google Hangout. As we know, that this service can be used for text/audio/video messaging. We can use this service as a mean of communication with our team members. As an alternative, of course, we can also use Skype.
2. Matecat
Based on my own experience when I worked in a team, two of the “obstacles” are TM consistency and different translation style. When we work offline in our own CAT tool, we will generate 1 TM. When there are 5 or more translators, then there will be 5 or more TMs. In fact, different TMs will possibly cause a low-quality translation in general (because of the inconsistency).
So, to solve this problem, we need a single platform that can “unite” the translation result under one TM that is always updated in real-time. And one of the platforms that we can use is Matecat.
3. Slack
Slack is a popular channel for most team-based projects. Only only for sending messages, but also send and share files with the capability of integration with Google Drive, Dropbox, and many other popular apps. With Slack, we can make subchannels for each purpose e.g. “translation” channel to discuss the translation phase, “editing” channel to discuss the editing phase, “DTP” channel to discuss DTP phase, and so on. Slack also available for smartphone, so we can keep monitoring the project’s progress at any time and anywhere.
See the sample of ActiveTranslation channel here (signup is required)
4. WeTransfer
To transfer a huge file that is impossible to be sent via email or uploaded to Google Drive / Dropbox, we can rely on WeTransfer.
5. Q-Dir
When we are working with several files, we will need to save and organize them in such a way so we can access them easily and quickly. In fact, opening multiple windows of the Windows Explorer is not effective. The solution is using Q-Dir, where one window can show us four tabs containing different directories at once. Download Q-Dir from here.
Do you have favorite tool and service to use? Please share below in the comment box 🙂