Oregon Translation Project Planner

To ensure the success of your upcoming translation project, it is vital that you make all necessary preparations. This includes organizing your source text documents and supporting files (images, fonts, etc.), as well as being able to provide us with some general details about the project so we can accurately assess its scope, cost, and delivery timeline.

The following is a list of questions you should be prepared to answer, as well as a preparatory checklist of project components you should have completed prior to our commencing the project work. Your answers and preparatory work will be greatly appreciated by all of us, and will assist us in getting your project off to a good start, and will enable work to proceed through to completion in an efficient manner.

Project Components

1. What is language of the source text? Into which target language(s) do you want the text to be translated?
   
   
2. What is the word count of the document(s) to be translated?
   
   
3. What is the subject or theme of the text to be translated?
   
   
4. Who is the intended, target audience that will read the translation?
   
   
5. In which file format(s) will you be providing source text to us? In which file format(s) will you need the translations provided?
   
   
6. Will desktop publishing or Web design be needed for the translated documents?
   
   
7. What is your ideal timeline for completion of this project?

Project Checklist

1. All of your source texts in a single place. Text files, documents, database dumps, image files, PDFs -- anything needing to be translated -- should be collected, organized, and copied onto a blank CD for delivery to our office.
   
   
2. A glossary of industry/proprietary terminology. Custom words, terms, acronyms, brands, and other proprietary vocabulary present in the source files should be assembled into a text file or spreadsheet for delivery to us. If at all possible, please clarify terms, brands, and proprietary words with detailed descriptions or definitions, as these will best assist us in recreating the words in the translated text.
   
   
3. A list of file formats (text, HTML, PDF, XML, database, etc.) which we will either need to work from, or export to in producing finished translations.
   
   
4. Your complete contact information, including work hours (and weekend/evening contacts if you wish), as well as names/titles of the decision makers for this project.