the effects of globalization on technical communication and training
DESCRIPTION
By Christie Fidura, SDL -- Presented at DocTrain East 2007. Globalization’ is the new buzz word, but what does this mean for a technical writer in the production of user documentation? In possession of specific skills, natural curiosity, and design abilities, technical writers are in a unique position to ensure their organization delivers information to a global audience that is accurate, consistent, and appropriate for local audiences. The efficient delivery of documentation is not the issue; instead, it is the efficient delivery of correct information across all content creators within the organization that is at stake. Technical writers are part of a larger organization due to hierarchical reporting structure. This silo approach does not encourage interactivity with other departments, leaving technical writers to wonder who is reviewing information that Marketing, Customer Support or Sales content. How can a technical writer affect change across the organization?TRANSCRIPT
Effects of Globalization on Technical Communication & Training
Christie Fidura
Senior Product Marketing Manager for Terminology Solutions
The Effects of Globalization on Technical Communication and Training
Effects of Globalization on Technical Communication & Training
The SDL Mission
We help corporations drive global brand consistency and accelerate time-to-market by providing software and services to manage the delivery of all corporate information into different languages
We call this Global Information Management (GIM)
How many of you…
Know how many languages your company translates into today?
Are aware of your company’s growth/expansion/future plans?
Know exactly what happens to your content after it’s published?
Have recently read your company’s website?
Stumble across paragraphs you’ve written in other collateral?
Understand the translation process?
Globalization in the Corporate World
It impacts everything you do as a company
Your market presence
Your target audience identification
Your brand
Tone of voice
Customer Support interaction
The delivered product or service
We communicate with customers over multiple channels and in multiple
languages
Brand Penetration
Inconsistencies are easy to see from one channel to another
Today’s Communication Challenges
Increasing delivery channels Too much work to deliver/track Increases risk of errors Decreases content effectiveness
Increasing content volumes Does ‘write once, reuse many times’ ever work? Higher translation costs
Time-to-market pressures Production cycles are shortening Squeezes development & localization effort
Source issues Don’t have access to all content sources required Dependency on subject matter experts – busy and/or located elsewhere
Today’s Communication Challenges
Content ownership Lost after publication Leaves content vulnerable
Pressure to: Improve customer satisfaction Improve quality and consistency Accelerate time-to-market Do more with less resource
Business silos of content creation Geographically separated resources No ability to share information or leverage other work
Geographically Distributed Resources
ContentTransactionalRelationship
EMEA
Content
TransactionalRelationship
Canada
ContentTransactionalRelationship
APJ
Content
AnalyticsContent
Content
ContentTransactionalRelationship
Latin America
Content
ContentTransactionalRelationship
US
ContentTransactionalRelationship
Product Group
Authoring
Authoring
Illustration
Illustration
India
Development
Development Silos Prevent Collaboration
Initiatives Dev Areas Types of Docs
Multiple Development Areas
XML
GMS
Increase Productivity
Version Control
Reduce Costs
Home
Software
Small Bus
Large Bus
Medium Bus
Services
Quick InstallGuides
Owner’s Manuals
Installation & Service Guides
Product Info. Guides
Program Strings
Getting StartedGuides
Improve Customer Exp.
User Guides
Tech. Sheets
Read Me & Help Files
Placemats
Reference Manuals
CD Artwork, Graphics, Icons
Effects of Globalization on Technical Communication & Training
So what does ‘going global’ mean?
Writing Content for a Global Audience
Writing with a Global Audience in Mind
NOT….
Writing ..and then thinking of the rest of the world and different
languages
… thinking of the rest of the world and different languages while writing, planning, etc.
BUT….
Writing with a Global Audience in Mind
The Bottom Line:Write for the Greatest Understanding
How Hard Can it Be?
International Council for Technical Communication (INTECOM): US thinks UK spelling is ‘quaint, strange or just spelled wrong’ UK thinks US spelling is recognizable but strange – and slightly irritating!!
No cultural, regional or local references “batting 1000” “on the fly” “the bottom line” “Choose a password which is easily memorable, such as your mother’s
maiden name”
Simple, clean, concise sentence structure Other languages do not understand the combination of multiple nouns
• “Application Integration Software Development Toolkit” = “Toolkit for the Development of the Software which allows the Integration of Applications”
Consider “text creep” when translation occurs
Global Content is Usable Content
Write for the broadest spectrum of users
Easily consumable content is the goal Think of Ikea!
The easier it is, the more translatable it is
Usable content employs good style Tone, language structure, syntax Tense, punctuation, grammar Formatting and layout Customer-friendly and unambiguous Complies with legal regulations Uses accurate, approved and consistent corporate terminology Not regional or cultural specific
We’re Not Global, so I Don’t Have to Worry, Right?
CEOs are naturally ambitious Could market abroad later, requiring content localization Content could be re-purposed for a website that is localized
‘Internationalized’ content is easier to comprehend in English Readers who speak English as a 2nd, 3rd, 4th language Especially important when you outsource (development) or publish information for companies
who sub-contract (aerospace/defense)
Modular content can be used by other internal departments Content can be lifted and then changed to suit new audience, medium, style guide
Is the style guide future-proof? Can the same content apply to: Multiple formats Multiple delivery channels
What about…? Different ways of saying things Inflexible rules
• Heading 2’s must be less than 6 words – does this rule work for other mediums?
A Helpful Translation Glossary
CAT: Computer Aided Translation Technology solutions for the translation process
CAT technology provides translation memories and terminology management
Translation memory: a database consisting of translation units Translation unit: source and translated sentence During translation, the technology searches for exact or similar matches to the current source sentence for
translation Matches found can be reused or edited
Termbase: multilingual database of all approved translated terms Term entries: terms, synonyms, acronyms, etc. Additional data: definition, part of speech, gender, etc.
Translators work with a translation memory and termbase to reuse previous translations and ensure consistency of terminology during translation
Result = More consistent translations, lowered translation costs
Effects of Globalization on Technical Communication & Training
OK, OK, I’m Global Already!
Wait… what about everyone else in my company?
Consistency is Key
Using consistent terms, style, formatting, and layout makes content more usable
Readers can apply existing familiarity to new content Makes them more comfortable Reduces learning curve
Happier customers think your product is better
Less Support queries
Internal perception = Great documentation!
The Impact of Inconsistency for Global Content
Examples: Product code name – internal name vs. marketing name
• “Longhorn” vs. Microsoft Windows Server? Feature names
Risks to: Proprietary terms
• The business – mission statements, elevator pitches, boilerplate text• The technology – business applications, internal processes
Editorial guidelines, which build the brand• Established/preferred nouns
– SDL Knowledge-based Translation System™ – Established – SDL KbTS – Alternative/Preferred
• Images• Colours• Email Addresses
Regulatory compliance
Inconsistency Examples & Risks
The Real Impact of Inconsistency
Inconsistencies cause: Inability to reuse content Inability to leverage other internal knowledge Inability to leverage existing translations Inability to Simship across all markets
Frustrated customers
Increased Support issues
Internal and External Perception = Bad documentation
Effects of Globalization on Technical Communication & Training
The 3 C’s of Globalization
Centralization
Collaboration
Celebration!
marketers
engineers
authors
editors
translators
reviewers
customers
What did we call this last time?
Didn’t I just research this?
I don’t like this translation.
There are four different translations
for this!
What doesthis mean?
Let’s just call it this for now.
Centralized Content Assets
QA
Local Regional Offices
Training and Education
Sales
Engineers
Documentation
Translators
Corporate Marketing
Web content, Online Help, User Guides, Marketing, Specs, etc.
Translation memory
Terminology
Improve quality of customer experience (deliveries and interactions)
Protect and enhance brand quality and value
Accelerate product and message “time-to-market”
Simship
Communicate with relevance and consistency to local markets
Drive out unnecessary process costs and delays
Centralization Enables Collaboration
Centralize all content assets
Apply assets to the entire content lifecycle
Optimize efficiency of the communication process
Managing Terminology Delivers…
The Right Term to the Right Author at the Right Time Delivers accurate and effective communications Rapid time-to-market Consistent information, communications, global branding and messaging
The Right Term to the Right Translator at the Right Time Delivers true translation efficiency Reduces translation costs Reduces the review cycle Consistent translations, higher quality More reuse
Summary
Globalization requires Information Foundation Increases efficiency, collaboration Reduces effort and inconsistencies Style, terminology, tone, structure, syntax Knowledge sharing -- Enables collaboration without hassle Standards can be more easily adhered to
Write for a global audience
Be aware of publication media type Content may be published on the internet, and therefore localized
Further reference: http://www.lisa.org http://www.sdl.com/terminology_management
Effects of Globalization on Technical Communication & Training
Thank you
Christie [email protected]
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