Content strategy has different meanings for different people, but let’s think of it as a way to connect project goals to audience needs. For a translation project, language is just another factor in the overall content strategy. This involves making workflow and content choices throughout the translation life cycle. Upfront planning is essential for efficient translations and for keeping costs down.
Tip From the beginning, think if your project needs to be translated now, or if the need could come up later. It is better to plan for it (even if it has a remote chance of happening), rather than not giving it any thought at all and having to backtrack or start over.
Project Planning
Take the time to define and document your project’s scope to meet your end goal in the most effective way possible. By asking and answering questions such as the following, your project and the best way to implement it, will start to take shape.
- What is the source language, and what are the languages needed?
- What do the published outputs need to look like?
- What content is needed, and what content should be shared?
- What should the project structure look like, so it is easy to translate?
- How should the project be prepared for translations?
- What translation workflow will move through the company?
- Who is the translator and what is the budget for translations?
- Are the translation and review processes accounted for in the schedule?
Communication Tools
MadCap Flare Desktop
The fact that you are reading Flare Desktop Help means that you are on the right track for a successful translation experience. Using the right tool for content development streamlines the translation process, and provides you with the necessary features to get the job done properly.
Flare Desktop is a powerful single-sourcing system that allows you to control the amount of content created. Since most translations are billed on a price per word basis, reusing content reduces the word count, which lowers translation costs.
MadCap Lingo
One of the best ways to go about getting a project translated is to use Flare Desktop with MadCap Lingo because the two products are tightly integrated for translation. Localized files stay within the actual project which helps to prevent content or formatting corruption. Also, translators can use previous translations created in other tools by importing Translation Memory eXchange (TMX) files.
After opening a project in Lingo, a translator immediately sees a list of all of the files (e.g., topics, snippets, variables), index markers, and concept markers for translation. Then, after translating the content using Lingo, those results are easily exported to a new project in that language.
