Cutting Edge Translation Management

Meet and Greet - Paris...

2008-11-20T13:06:00.010+01:00

... or should I say: Meet and Greet in Paris - so don't you look for Paris Hilton photos here;-)

But up to the point.

As you all well know, the translation world is looking these days to EUATC 2008 International Conference in Paris.

So if you are a participant, or are in Paris on some other business, and would like to learn something more about our system - or if you are one of our partners or clients and would like just to pop in and say "Cheers" - just make sure you meet our boss, Andrzej Nedoma, who's taking part in it.

And by the way, enjoy your stay in Hilton...er... Paris;-)

Wojtek, XTRF

A Webinar on the way

2008-10-13T14:48:00.011+02:00

We are pleased to inform you, that on Tuesday, October 28, at 1 pm GMT we will have a free Webinar, for our clients, devoted to Customer and Provider Relations Management Module of XTRF.

We will show you what use you can put our system to, when it comes to comunicating with your partners, taking business decisions and planning business strategy.

The presentation will take about an hour and it will be held by Tomek sales@xtrf.eu (in English), Staszek sales2@xtrf.eu (in Russian) and Wojtek wojtek@xtrf.eu (in Polish).

So if you feel like taking part in it and would like to learn how to get most out of XTRF and make your Partners Relations even more efficient, please feel free to contact the respective person.

Wojtek, XTRF

International Translation Day

2008-09-30T16:59:00.004+02:00

On September 30 the world celebrates International Translation Day launched in the early nineties of the 20th Cetury.

The celebrations are held on the feast of Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος (Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus), the patron sait of translators, widely known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, the Vulgate, which it took him over 20 years to complete.

On this day we wish all translation companies lots of interesting papers to translate and important meetings to interpret, and at least as much time as St. Jerome had;-)

XTRF team

Need For Speed

2008-09-29T17:05:00.028+02:00

When it comes to translation business, speed is one of the key factors. If you were to ask your customers when they want to receive translated files, they would probably answer: "The sooner the better".

However speed alone won't do, and your customers will keep a close eye on the quality of your services.

Now, say what you will, to ensure high quality you cannot keep speeding up your translators too much. Therefore if you want to work really fast, if you want to be Speed King, you have to accelerate project management.

With the latest XTRF upgrade XTRF 1.6, you have even more ways to do it. One of them is Schemata module, which comes in handy, when you have customers who commision you with projects closely resembling each other.

Imagine you have a customer, who every now and then sends you documents to be translated into the same set of languages. It may be that they even want you to use the same translators.

This being the case it hardly makes any sense to go through all the project management procedure every time. Instead, you can define one of the past projects done for them as a template for the projects to come, and then - while being commisioned with translation again - create a new project based on the aforementioned template.

This is what we call Project Schema. With it you can create a huge project with multiple language combinations with just a few clicks, as the only things that really differ are the deadline and the number of words, pages, hours or other calculation units. So the only things you really have to do, to start a project, is to:

Define what schema you are going to use
Define the deadline
Define number of calculation units.

Nevertheless, it doesn't mean you can't do anything more. The points mentioned above are the obligatory ones, allowing you to create a project within extremely shore period of time, still you have freedom to do much more if you wish. So lets have a look at it from the very begining.

On loging into XTRF you can see the following screen. If you want to start a project, just click "Create" in project module.

Fig 1: Creating a project

Then, when you are already in project creation part of the system, you can decide whether you want to create a project based on a schema or no,

Fig 2: Deciding wheter to use schema or not

and - if yes - what schema you want to have it based on.

Fig 3: Choosing a schema (1st obligatory step)

After choosing a schema, which in case of typical projects is the first obligatory step, you can see such a screen.

Fig 4: Defining deadline (2nd obligatory step)

As you can see, customer name and price profile, as well as workflow which is to be used, have been automatically filed into the project, on basis of the template project you had defined as a schema. What's more project manager has been suggested by the system, based on the data from schema project - still you can decide to choose different manger if you wish. Furthermore customer contact person, and person to which the project should be send back, have been suggested.

Of course you can change these, and you can add new people here. When necessary, you can also name a project, and enter customer project number, so if at some point in the future the customer enquires about this project you can look for it based on the number they provide.

Nevertheless, all of these aren't mandatory and the only thing that you really need to define here is the deadline for the project - as the start date is by default the date at which you create it - and then you can go to the last phase of project creation.

However, if a customer has sent you some special instructions for the project or if you have any general instructions for the providers or for people dealing with the project internally you can decide to enter them in "Instructions" tab beforehand.

Fig 5: General Customer, Provider and Internal Instructions

You can also decide to attach some notes to the project - in "Notes" tab, and if you wish to quick note it, so while looking for the projects you can read the reminders already at the browsing level.

Fig 6: Quick noting a project

Still let me remind you that none of these are obligatory, and if you just want to start a typical project as fast as possible, the only steps you have to take are: the decision on schema you want to base it on, defining the deadline for the project and entering the number of calculations units. This last step takes place in the next screen.

Fig 7: Entering number of calculation units (last obligatory step)

As you can see, the language combinations and specialization, as well as type of translation services you have been comissioned with by your customer, and you are to send orders for to your providers, have been filled automatically by the system. The same has been done with type of calculation units, so the only thing that remains to be done is decide on their number.

You can also decide whether you want to change deadlines for particular tasks and translators' activities or to keep the suggested ones - which have been calculated on the basis of their respective length in the project defined as schema.

When you make up your mind, and introduce or not aformentioned changes, you can click 'save'. These done you have virtually finished your project management work.

How come?

The system simply does most of remaining procedures for you.

It assigns number to the whole project, as well as to every language combination, and to all translation services you send orders for.

Fig 8: General overview of particular language combination

It creates directories for input, output, reference and dictionary files within each language combination. It can also create directories for different types of files that you may receive from or send to you customer and translators - for it to be possible, you just need to define their types while configuring your system.

Fig 9: Input files directories created for one of language combinations

It calculates money that you should get from your customer for every service you have been commisioned with within every language combination.

Fig 10: Receivables calculated within each language combination

It chooses the translators for particular activities within every language combination, based on who did these jobs in project defined as schema. As you can see, this feature allows you to delegate your best providers to work on projects you do for your key clients. This way you may use schemata to ensure both speed (project management) and quality of work (translators chosen).

Furthermore it calculates how much money each provider should get - based on their rates, which the system automatically takes from their profile, and number of calculation units.

Fig 11: Translators chosen and payables calculated for every language combination

Another thing the system does for you is automatic calculation of profitability for the whole project and all language combinations. The possible discrepancies between currencies used by your customer and providers, should not bother you, as everything is calculated into default project currency.

Fig 12: Profitability caluclated for all language combinations

Still another way in which the system saves your employees time is calculating payment terms, such as invoice issuance and payment dates and prompting VAT rates.

Fig 13: Calculating payment terms

Should I add that everything you can do while managing a project created without a schema applies here as well? So if you wish, you can enter names and customer numbers for every single task and you can manage and calculate discounts and surcharges both for client and translators automatically.

Furthermore all the entries suggested and caluclated by the system: e.g. translators, receivables and payables, dates, values and rates can be edited and changed anytime and the new values will be caluclated automatically for particular language combination, as well as for the whole project.

All these said and done, let me add that you can send orders to all providers with one click. The system will automatically generate e-mails, fill data into PO documents sent with them, and inform you that they have been sent.

Fig 14: E-mails with Project Orders and Specification are sent directly from the system

The same is of course true with Project Specification sent to the customer. All the data is filled into it automatically, and it is send directly from the system with a click.

To summarize, lets just have a look at the screens attached in this post. We had here a project with 22 language combinations (a translation from English into all EU languages), with 3 services commisioned by the client and consequently three providers chosen for each language combination.

The creation of this project, during which I took my time and tried to fill most of the available fields and not only obligatory ones, took me just a couple of minutes. During that time about:

89 numbers have been assigned: for the whole project, for 22 tasks and for all translation jobs withing every task (language combination)
88 directories have been created for input files
directories have been created for output files within every language combination
66 providers have been chosen
132 totals have been calculated - 6 for each language combination
67 documents have been created

Not to mention the creation of rule for sending the files between successive providers (workflow), generating and sending of e-mails, calculation of profitability for all language combinations and whole project, and lots of other things that I didn't even have to bother about, while sipping my cup of tea.

So if you'd like to send send your PMs on holiday, have a time of your own and do more projects at the same time, in other words if you are in for the speed, just contact our consultants to learn more about Schemata module and our latest upgrade.

Wojtek, XTRF

I Can Get No(w) Satifsfaction!!!

2008-09-25T10:09:00.030+02:00

Running a translation business, you are sure constantly looking for ways to gain advantage over your competition. The best way to do it is to keep your Customers satisfied.

However, satisfaction is a strange thing, and it is not enough to offer the highest quality translation - there are many others who do that as well. You need to make your clients believe that they not only are well cared for, but also have a say in their matters.

That's why the upcoming upgrade of our system, XTRF 1.6, features what we call CQ. Believe or not it's not Cronartium Quercuum.

C is for Customer and Q is for Quote. In other words, from now on, your customers can come out with their own quote for you translation services. If it isn't advantage over your competitors I wonder what is.

How does it work?

On logging into their account in the Partner Zone of your system, your customers can choose to create a Quote. If they do, the only things that remain to be done are to:

define language combinations and specialization and what exactly (what type of translation service) they are interested in
enter the number of calculation units e.g. words or pages

All the calculations are done automatically by the system, which means your clients can create, and send you a quote in about one minute. However, if that was all that they could do, it would be a nice feature, still it wouldn't make them really satisfied - maybe a little aroused ;-) - as they would be able to create a quote, but wouldn't have much to say anyway.

How to change it? How to make them feel really cared for and adhered to? Allow them as much freedom of choice as possible.

How is it done?

To see it exactly, we have to go back to the very beginning, to the moment just after they click create a quote. What they can see then is this:

Here they can first of all decide which of their price lists the quote will be based on.

Secondly they can define who's going to be the contact person at their office, and who they want the quote to be send back to. They can also add new people here and define them for these functions with that particular project.

Furthermore they can decide which project manager they want to deal with their quote and later on project.

And last, but not least, in a separate tab, they can let you know any special instructions they have for you, and decide if these are to be also displayed in quote browse, as a quick note, so the PM immediately on seeing the quote notices there is something special about it or not.

You can find a sample of such an instruction below.

Having done that, they see such a window:

where they can define if the translation will be done from one to many languages of from many languages into one.

After defining that they need to define language combinations and specialization and type of activity they are interested in.

Note well that if they are interested just in creating a quote and nothing more, that is the first obligatory place that has to be filled for the quote to be created.

On defining the above info - which is done by choosing from scroll lists - they can see this window, where they need to name calculation units (again by choosing from scroll list) and enter number of units. This is the second and the last one obligatory place.

If they want to pay you in accordance with the CAT analysis of a file, they can choose "CAT calculation" instead of "Basic cost calculation", just they way you can see below,

choose a CAT log and load it into the system.

Regardless of the calculation type, basic or CAT, they choose, all calcs are conducted automatically.

And the next thing your customers can see is this window.

Here they can see how much they are to pay you and place the quote. They can also upload the files beforehand unless they decide to send them by e-mail.

They can upload them in such a pop-up window.

Having uploaded them, they can place the quote. When they do that, they can see the general structure of the quote.

They can also have a look at the details. For example, activity and money to be paid within particular language combination.

At the same time, just as the customer clicks "Place a quote", an e-mail is automatically generated by the system and sent to the right project manager informing him that a quote has been placed by this customer. In the attachment the PM can find the quote document.

On receiving the e-mail, the PM can review the quote, he can also have a look at it in the system, define the deadline in working days and when the client accepts it convert the quote into new project.

This being the case only sir Mick Jagger can get no satisfaction as both your customers and PMs are pleased. PMs as now they have even less to do.

And customers since they can have a say when it comes to quoting, and they feel well taken care of. This is what we call "Sympathy for the Client".

So if it sounds interesting please feel free to contact us for more info about the new upgrade.

Wojtek, XTRF

Sweet 1.6 - new Upgrade on the way

2008-09-18T14:06:00.006+02:00

The release of the latest XTRF upgrade - XTRF 1.6 - is now a matter of just a few days.

Our whole team has set to the final tests, lending IT developers and testers a helping hand, to enssure nothing slips their notice, and you get not only the most advanced, but also most reliable management software up to date.

We are especially enthusiastic about it, as it is going to feature loads of new features, some of which will make a huge difference to the way you perceive project, company and relations management.

In the next few days we will disclose some of the details regarding these features, as well as the release date. So stayed tuned, and visit our blog for more info.

And if you would like to see what you can get with XTRF 1.6, please feel free to contact our consultants.

Wojtek, XTRF

Metallica vs. XTRF

2008-09-08T13:24:00.020+02:00

September 12 is the day that millions of people all around the globe are waiting for. This Friday new Metalllica LP "Death Magnetic" is to be released worldwide. (You may hear some of the new songs on Metallica site).

However, there is one place where latest Metallica release may be outdone. Western Ukraine, will witness XTRF Magnetic that day, as International XTRF Conference on "Cutting-Edge Translation Agencies Development Paths", will be held in Lviv.

The conference, which will take place in Hetman Hotel at High Noon, consists of:

A lecture on "EURO 2012, as a chance for translation agencies" by Stanisław Zalewski
A presentation of the latest XTRF versions, including upcoming XTRF 1.6 upgrade

Participants will also have a chance to purchase special XTRF packages - at promotional price - available only during the conference. What's more, everyone present will get a special 'gift'.

The conference is a part of XTRF's visit to Ukraine and Moldova. Similar conferences will take place on September 15 in Kiev (Lybid Hotel, 11 a.m.), and three days later, on September 18 in Chişinău (Vila Verde Hotel, at noon). The last one may be especially interesting as Stansław, was born and spent most of his life in Moldova.

After each conference, there will be a chance to meet our consultant, as well as representatives of other translation agencies, in an informal atmosphere, and get to know each other a bit closer.

Most of Lviv, Kiev and Chişinău, as well as a number of foreign translation agencies have already confirmed their participation. So the conferences will be not only a great chance to learn about the latest developments in translation management, but also to meet new business partners.

So if you don't feel like missing your chance to show up at the most important business event - in that region - this year, contact Stanisław by phone +48 517 194 956 or e-mai office@xtrf.eu.

Wojtek, XTRF

XTRF 1.5!!!

2008-09-04T10:51:00.049+02:00

“The only thing constant in life is change” is what Francois de la Rouchefoucauld used to say. Still change can be for better or for worse. We believe that XTRF 1.5, the latest upgrade of XTRF Management System is the best so far, and so is definitely the change for better. Why? To find out read the below description of the new features.

"Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem" (William of Ockham)

Occam's razor may be an outstanding achievement of medieval philosophy, still it is also one of key rules in any process management. If you strip lex parsimoniae of its philosophical wording what you get is a simple rule: "The simpler the better".

And it's exactly what you get with project management module in the new Upgrade. For example, instead of uploading files into every single language combination within a project, you can do it for one of them, and then when you copy the tasks the files will be copied as well. But that's not all. You can decide to upload the files already while quoting, and when you convert the quote into the project the files will be saved in right directories within project. Of course, uploading in quote module follows the same rule as in project module, so you do it just once, and then when you copy quote settings to other language combinations the files are copied as well.

Pic.1: Creating a new customer in a pop-up window while working on a project

Another thing that is easier in the new version is adding new customers. Suppose you have a new client coming with a request for a quote. Instead of creating his profile first and only then starting a quote, you can start quoting straight away and create customer profile in a pop-up window.

“Thou hast ordered all things in measure and number and weight” (Wisdom of Solomon 11,20)

Believer or not, one thing is for sure: while ordering, running a business you have got to stick to measures. You simply cannot manage what you don’t measure.

Therefore the latest XTRF upgrade allows you to enter internal non-conformities and clients’ claims in project management module. This of course triggered adding overall reports of non-conformities and clients’ claims in ISO analyses.

Pic. 2: Internal Non-Conformity template

Talking about ISO analyses, bearing in mind that there are several ways you can measure something, we have incorporated into the system a new filter. With XTRF 1.5 while conducting financial analyses you can decide whether the period for which they are to be conducted is to be based on a start date or deadline.

Still you may be willing not only to conduct analyses, but also to export them to some external system. That’s why the new upgrade features even more export facilities than the previous versions. With it – in addition to what you could already do – you can export to csv files: reports on internal non-conformities, customers’ claims, provider claims and payables and receivables data. Furthermore, you can customize what you want to have exported in project, customer and provider browse.

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer" (Walden, Henry David Thoreau)

Talking about customization, it’s one of the things that make using XTRF such a great experience. Basically we find the above quote from Concord Transcendentalist true and believe there's no use making everyone work the same way.

That’s why not only you can adjust XTRF to your company needs, but also can customize how the things are displayed, so they comply with your way of working. The latest upgrade features even more customization facilities, as it is now possible to customize tables’ layout in project, customer and provider browse. In other words you can adjust the way columns are displayed, their order and sorting rule to your own habits.

But that’s not all. As companies differ so do people. And there are no two identical individuals. So why make all your employees use general layout? What you get that way is companization and not customization.

Pic.3: Customization per user

So, how about letting everyone decide for their own what and how they want to have displayed? That’s exactly what makes the new upgrade both effective and convenient for everyone at a company.

And last but not least:

Little things that matter

It may be true that for Ozzy Osbourne „Happiness just didn’t come so easy”, but for most of us those are these little things that make us happy. And that’s why in the new upgrade you will find such little features, that may not speed up your work, but are just nice to have.

What am I talking about? For example, with XTRF 1.5 you get more space for notes in customer and provider profiles. Another thing is ‘edit and send’ button in Invoicing module, with which you can edit not only the invoice but also the e-mail that goes with it, and of course send them directly from the system. Furthermore, just for convenience sake, selected language combination in customer and provider profiles is displayed from now on in bold – just the way it is done in lower versions in project and quoting. And finally, ‘test’ button has been added in configuration module allowing you to test your XTRF e-mail settings.

Pic. 4: 'Edit and Send' button in Invoicing module

So if you would like to give our new upgrade a try, please feel free to contact us for online presentation of the system.

Wojtek, XTRF

A Pig in A Poke

2008-08-20T15:19:00.006+02:00

"A decent, respectable hobbit was Mr Drogo Baggins: there was never much to tell of him, till he was drowned."

That is of course a quote from "The Lord of the Rings", still it has a lot to do with purchasing software.

Sure there are people who can evaluate something at the first glimpse, still most of us like to consider the thing thoroughly, weigh it in their mind, have a closer look at the details - simply to be sure that they are not going to send their money down the drain buying something that looks decent, but in the end "drowns".

We are well aware that nobody likes buying a pig in a poke and that's why we offer those of our clients who still can't make their mind, after they have seen a presentation of our system, a free trial period.

You can either get access to a free online demo version or you can have the system installed on your server with a temporary license. It is up to you which you choose. What is important is that, whatever your choice, you not only get a chance to see what XTRF can do, but also to try it out.

Why do we do it? Well as a rule you learn much more when you can do the clicking and not only the watching. And we want our clients to be sure of their choice.

Therefore if on having seen the presentation you still can't make your mind as to whether XTRF is what you are looking for, ask our consultant for the trial version that would suit you best.

Wojtek, XTRF

Webinar summary

2008-08-12T11:57:00.006+02:00

Yesterday, August 11, we had a Webinar devoted to the use you can put our system to when it comes to ISO certification.

The online meeting aroused interest of our clients, who took their chance to learn more about how they can accelerate and facilitate their preparations for ISO implementation, as well as what advantage they can take of XTRF while preparing for internal and external audits.

What is important, the participation in the Webinar was free of charge!!!

This is due to the fact that we believe our clients' success to constitute our own, and are willing to help them develop, which we do showing them how they can use XTRF up to the extreme.

Wojtek, XTRF

Go West part 1

2008-08-08T16:23:00.005+02:00

We are more than happy to inform you that Baltic region isn't the only one where we have won new clients. We have been successful in western and northern Europe as well. We will post more info on that matter soon. So stay tuned;-)

Wojtek, XTRF

ISO Webinar

2008-08-05T16:25:00.007+02:00

On Monday, August 11, at 2 pm GMT we will have a free Webinar devoted to what our system can do for you when it comes to ISO certification.

We will show you what use you can put XTRF to while implementing ISO, and - if you already are ISO certified - how you can prepare for an audit within a couple of minutes.

The presentation will take about an hour and it will be conducted by Tomek sales@xtrf.eu (in English), Staszek sales2@xtrf.eu (in Russian and Romanian) and Wojtek wojtek@xtrf.eu (in Polish).

So if you feel like taking part in it and learning how to make ISO a piece of cake, please feel free to contact the respective person.

Wojtek, XTRF

Tour de Force

2008-07-31T09:53:00.010+02:00

Two weeks ago we informed you that our representatives were going to set off on a Journey to the East. To tell you the truth, they didn't follow Herman Hesse, but rather went to Baltic States instead. Anyway, they are back now and willing to share their impressions with you about the trip. So here's what Staszek, our consultant for the Eastern Markets, has to say:

"We departed from Kraków on Sunday (July 20). We crossed the border on Monday morning. Because the Baltic States joined the Schengen zone together with Poland in December of 2007, crossing the border takes just three minutes at most – we didn't even have to stop.

As it was our first visit to the region there were a couple of surprises waiting in store for us.

First of all, the roads - we felt a significant difference immediately and have to admit that they are much better than Polish roads. Secondly, the prices e.g. for petrol are much lower than in Poland. And last but not least, nearly every employee at a petrol station or a shop assistant can speak at least one of three foreign languages (English, Polish, or Russian).

In some districts of Lithuanian cities you can still find menacing, dilapidated Post-Soviet shanties, but on the whole they are hidden in an elaborate design of charming houses covered with tiles.

What we saw in Latvia came as an even bigger surprise. I reckon Eastern regions are less well-off, still passing through such towns as Bauska, Iecava, and Kekava we felt as if we had been in some Western European country.

Riga was the first stop on our journey, in which we received a warm welcome. Tête à tête encounters with numerous CEOs of translation agencies (often held in informal surroundings ), helped us to get to know each other a bit better. It turned out that the heads of Latvian translation companies, which we held negotiations with, have a lot in common. Regardless of their age, they are enormously energetic people with a clear vision of what they want to achieve.

The companies that had already begun automating with XTRF developed enormously, whereas new players on the market are willing to keep pace with them. We signed so many agreements that one of the local businessmen baptized Riga 'the real capital of XTRF' ".

Below you will find a bit of information on two of the companies that we commenced cooperation with.

On July 22, we signed a Reselling Agreement with "Mestako".
"Mestako" representatives had managed to recommend their company as a partner of SDL International (TRADOS) for the Baltic States. Thanks to this agreement, translation agencies from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will have a chance not only to profit by the use of automation services, but will also be able to avail themselves of local experts’ support. For more information click here or here.

We also have some good news for Lithuanian clients. XTRF is going to be localized into Lithuanian soon. This will allow those companies to automate with the only web-based system for translation office management that is fully adapted to the needs of the Lithuanian market. To tell you the truth, for the time being it's hard to imagine XTRF in the mother tongue of Antanas Baranauskas, still when Darius Ščiuk and his Vilnius team UAB "Lingvinai" are setting out to work you can be sure of the highest quality outcome.

The teams of some of the companies, which our representatives signed agreements with on their tour de Baltic, are shown in the photographs below. Smiling faces speak louder than words.

Strombus (Riga) is headed by young at heart Leonīds Platups. It lifts our hearts when we realize that due to our offering we have managed to help that company in active expansion into new markets.

Kaspars Kļaviņš energetic and enterprising director of "Mestako"

We are also attaching some photos of Riga and Vilnius (from our own archive) for those of you who haven't been there yet.

Riga: if you've ever been there, you are sure to come back!!!:

Breathtaking churches and tserkovs (Orthodox churches) at every square.

Information board commemorating the declaration of the Old Town of Riga a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Three Brothers, an ensemble of dwelling buildings in Maza Pils street. (The oldest, White Brother was built at the end of the 15^th Century).

See Lithuania and Die - have a look :-)

Vilnius at night

Lithuanian countryside

Stanislav, XTRF (localized by Wojtek, XTRF)

Read between the lies

2008-07-29T18:04:00.008+02:00

This will be a title of a cycle in which we’re gonna publish short texts which we think may be a nuisance for a translator. This maybe a case for a couple of reasons.

First one is of course a pun, like the heading itself. Try to translate into any other language. Sure they have idioms that mean the same as “Read between the lines” but how to keep this similarity of sound, nearly homonymic feel which you encounter in English?

Second one could be the antiquity of the text. Any one who tried to translate “Beowulf” or even “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” into any language for sure faced the problem how to do it in order not only to convey the story but also keep that old feeling and make the readers realize how hard these are to read even to the English.

And third is the nature of the text itself, e.g. it being so complicated, due to the use of specific terms, or specific use of ordinary terms:-), lengthy sentences and never ending paragraphs, uncommon grammar or experimental writing techniques, that even if it isn’t hard to understand in the source language it causes great difficulties in translating into some other. If you want any examples its best to look into academic papers, IT manuals or read the last chapter of “Ulysses” by Joyce.

The texts that you will encounter here were both written in English (in which case we acknowledge problems which they may cause to the ones daring to put them in other languages) and in other languages (and then we pay respect to the translators that took pains to make them understandable for English readers).

We will find new entries every now and then. The passage that we will start this series with is an excerpt from Soren Kierkegaard book, “Sickness Unto Death”. As Kierkegaard was forefather of existentialism, the excerpt is rather complicated, and we can only imagine how hard it was for Alastair Hannay to put it into English. For those about the words we salute you!

Here it goes:

“The human being is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation which relates to itself, or that in the relation which is its relating to itself. The self is not the relation but the relation’s relating to itself. A human being is a synthesis (…) A synthesis is a relation between two terms. Looked at in this way a human being is not yet a self.
In a relation between two things the relation is the third term in the form of a negative unity, and the two relate to the relation, and in the relation to that relation (…)
If the relation which relates to itself has been established by something else, then of course the relation is the third term, but then this relation, the third term, is a relation which relates in turn to that which has established the whole relation.
Such a derived, established relation is the human self, a relation which relates to itself, and in relating to itself relates, to something else”.

And how does it feel? By the way, if you know some saying, passage or whatever that you think tops this one, or you just reckon might suit here we would like you to add it in the comments or to send it to us and we will create a new post with it.

Wojtek, XTRF

Awareness

2008-07-21T17:11:00.016+02:00

According to an old metaphor we don’t see what really is, but only a shadow of real things. And old management adage has it that: „You can’t manage what you don’t measure”.

Therefore if you don’t want to waste your managerial skills in Platonic cave or de Mello dream it is high time to define what aspects of translation/localization agency work are to be measured.

Quality of translation is what comes to mind first.

Pic. 1: Profit analysis by customers

Still there’s one more thing which may not strike translators as something obvious, but is indispensable for people in charge of office management. As we all well know “Money makes the world go around. The world go around. The world go around…" and what is to be taken into account when managing an office are financial analyses and forecasts.

The analyses in question should certainly be as accurate as possible, still as a manager isn’t a philosopher, a lover of wisdom, but a person whose responsibility it is to take decisions, and as often happens in a brink of time, they should be based on the latest data and should be available anytime, anywhere.

Pic. 2: Analysis of language combinations profitability

Furthermore, a smart management should account not only for a limited scope of situations, but should be conducted – even if not sub species aeterne, at least – with totality, of all the processes taking place at a company, in mind.

And that’s why with XTRF Management System you can measure not only: the quality of work of your translators and number of claims, but also profitability of a project and all of language combinations within it, regardless of differences between currencies used in dealings with your customers and providers.

What’s more you get an instant access to all types of analyses on: turnover, profit, profitability, number of tasks, number of customer claims, number of internal nonconformities, number of nonconformities, and number of deadlines met in respect of your customers, countries, PMs, projects, providers, language specializations and combinations, source language or target language.

Pic.3: Cash Flow forecast

For example you can check: clients from which country yield you most income, which Project Manager brings you the highest turnover, what trends are displayed by your clients, whether they commission you with translations more or less often, etc.

Still that’s not enough. As sensible management bears a heavy impact on the future of a company, managers are given access to cash flow forecasts.

All of these, of course within a couple of seconds, from any place in the world via web browser.

In the end you are aware only of what you can measure in someway, and you can manage only what you are well aware of.

Wojtek, XTRF

XTRF's Journey to the East

2008-07-15T14:39:00.008+02:00

Our consultants, Tomek and Staszek, are heading East next week, to sign important Agreements.

From 21st to 23rd July they will be in Riga, Latvia and from 24th to 25th July they will be residing in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Therefore if any one of you would like to meet them, ask any questions or see how our system works please feel free to contact Tomek beforehand by phone: +48 12 359 25 16 or mail: sales@xtrf.eu

Wojtek, XTRF

Spain Truckin'

2008-06-30T16:35:00.005+02:00

Spain Truckin’

It was just yesterday that Spain won Euro 2008 and in the joy of the moment we're happy to tell you that a few days earlier Sicaman Nuevas Tecnologias S.L. and XTRF Management System had launched a cooperation in the field of distribution and reselling. Sicaman Nuevas Tecnologias will be the sole distributor of XTRF for Spain and Portugal. "Signing this Agreement is an important step in our company business strategy", said Daniel Villafranca, Sicaman Nuevas Tecnologias. "We believe Portuguese and Spanish translation agencies will have a chance to avail themselves of XTRF experience and will be able to optimize their processes".

"We're really proud we can cooperate with Sicaman Nuevas Tecnologias. We have been paying close attention to their actions for a long time and we are sure that their hard work, devotion and professional attitude will help Spanish and Portuguese companies appreciate advantages they can get with XTRF." said Andrzej Nedoma, Managing Partner at XTRF.

So if you're from Iberian peninsula, don't miss your chance to contact our new partner.

Wojtek, XTRF

2008-06-06T14:53:00.002+02:00

Berlin Calling

We're going to participate in Localization World conference in Berlin (9-11 June 2008). So please feel free to come to our stand #32, for meet and greet. We'll have a chat, and if you're willing you may learn something about XTRF-TM - a new version of XTRF management system - scheduled to hit the market in June.

Somewhere in Time

If you're in translation/localization industry your business is supposed to be words. Still you've got to deal with whole lotta processes, such as: quote creation, project management, defining and meeting deadlines, sending orders and project confirmations, assigning tasks, choosing providers, negotiating rates, keeping your customers informed, flow of files, and last but not least invoice issuance and payment - to mention just a few of them. Sure all of these time consuming processes have nothing to do with translation and localization, with the business of words so to speak, still you can't do without them.

So wouldn't it be nice if you could automate all of these, which would earn you a lot of time for the translation and localization themselves? And that's exactly what you get with XTRF, a web based tool for managing translation agencies.

Memory remains

Still, improving the way your office works is not just a matter of handling process, file and business management more efficiently. Translation and localization bear their share of cake as well. And here's where the new version of XTRF, XTRF-TM comes to play. Developed in cooperation with XML-INTL, it features Translation Memory module. In other words, it not only enhances the way a translation agency is managed, but it also provides you with a powerful CAT tool implemented into the system. So what you get is with the new system is a multi-tier functionality.

One for all

In short, XTRF-TM is a complete tool for handling all the processes that take place at translation/localization agency. It combines functionality of business management and workflow systems with that of CAT tools. What it means is you can use it to enhance the way your business works in all its areas. And to top all these, it can be accessed from any place in the world via search engine. Wanna check it out?

Wojtek, XTRF