I’ve written before about how automating localization projects saves time, money — and frustration. With configurable workflows, Wordbee Translator is made for enterprises and LSPs who want to streamline their jobs to achieve “lights-out” or low touch project handling.

Lights Out

The original idea behind lights-out management (LOM) stems from system administrators being able to manage servers by remote control. From a translation management system’s point of view, lights-out or low-touch project handling means knowing what has to happen next, who needs to be assigned which tasks in order for the project to be completed, with the least amount of intervention possible.

In order for lights-out project handling to be achieved, time and thought really need to go into identifying all the steps along the way, turning your service level agreement (SLA) into a workflow.

Although the CAT tool is at the very heart of Wordbee Translator, its workflow management tools gives you the ability to be efficient, seamlessly automating your jobs. Every single step in the process can become an action item assigned to a specific team member, triggering a new event whenever an action is completed or a deadline is approaching, or passed. And being cloud-based, Wordbee’s ability for collaboration helps to cut down the translation cycle to improve delivery times, often by 50% or more.

Set Up and Flow

We know one of the biggest pain points for project managers is the email chase. Wordbee Translator handles in the background, with notifications for any action in a project going just to the people who really need to know. For project managers, the management of the project is still in their control, but instead of sending emails and attaching files, chasing and following up (touching here, touching there), Wordbee does that for them. It gives them control too, so they can get a snapshot of the project at any given moment with a translation process that is completely transparent.

Wordbee Translator lets you achieve a project that easily flows from A to Z, but to make it as lights-out as possible, the project’s workflow cannot be ignored and needs periodic revision to account for changing personnel or LSPs. Once it’s set up, each subsequent project can follow the same pattern, or be adapted for exceptions.

Dave and Sophie

An example of how this works is Dave, the client in the USA, and Sophie, the project manager at his LSP in Spain.

Dave has an urgent translation request, a manual in 24 languages. Because the LSP uses Wordbee Translator, Dave is able to log into Wordbee Translator through his LSP’s Client Portal and upload the source content, specify the targets, and get a quote and estimated deadline. He can even kick off the project, which he does.

Sophie sees the project is on the way and the translations have begun. She goes home.

Dave, who’s in New York, realizes sometime after lunch that the source file he uploaded wasn’t the final version, and Sophie has already gone home. That’s not a problem: he uploads the correct version through the client portal, and Wordbee Translator determines the differences, leveraging the translations already done, even while the translators are busy working on it.

As the translators finish their tasks, the target content is made available to the next person in the workflow, such as an in-house reviewer working for Dave’s company. Sophie is notified for final validation, and makes sure that the specific QA profiles for Dave’s company have been run on the translations, and spell checkers too.

The project is delivered back to Dave, who can pick it up through the Client Portal. Wordbee produces and sends all the suppliers Purchase Orders on behalf of the LSP, and produces and sends an invoice to Dave’s company for the work done.

Wordbee Translator lets you determine what happens with the content to be translated, giving you the workflow choices you need at each step along the way to achieve low touch project handling. For projects with large word counts and a wide variety of target languages, Wordbee gives you the options you need, the control you want and makes even big projects flow smoothly, time after time.