Customers: Content Management Solution for Life Sciences Corporation

Innovative new workflow plus automated tools cut translation costs by 50%

The Client

As a leading provider of instrumentation, supplies, software and services to the life sciences and chemical analysis markets, this client's tools help scientists to understand complex biological processes, unlock the causes of disease and speed the discovery of new drugs.

The Challenge

Updating and localizing a nearly 800-page, highly technical reference guide and supply catalog is a complex task. Input from writers, editors, translators, designers, subject matter experts and other groups had to be planned, managed and tracked precisely and efficiently.

A high number of updates.
A lack of version control.
Low leverage of the TMs - QuarkXpress file formats and nearly 1,000 graphics prevented the automatic reuse of existing and approved translations. This required significant manual intervention and the realignment of translation memories.
New text had to be manually marked during DTP for the client's proofreaders to validate.
Identification and reuse of content and translations: format changes from version to version made automatic text comparisons impossible.
Impaired quality and consistency of both source and localized texts.
A need to maintain a consistent corporate identity.
Time-to-market constraints.

The entire process was inefficient and costly, meaning the client needed to simplify and automate the catalog creation and localization process from start to finish.

The Solution

Resolving these issues began with creating a fully integrated content creation/localization workflow that would optimize the format and quality of source content, as well as facilitate a streamlined localization process. This new workflow would further simplify the development of the five types of collateral created by reusing the catalog content in each of the target languages. A more automated XML-based Content Management System (CMS) was deployed to support the new workflow and facilitate the use of automated language tools.

Implementation
Tek evaluated and piloted CMS vendor Stibo's STEP solution on behalf of the client. Tek then worked with the client to create a workflow that would employ the XMLbased CMS to isolate content from the format, allowing Tek to use its tools and processes to obtain more reuse from the existing translations. The client transferred the existing content from QuarkXpress files by copying and pasting content into the CMS and then cleaning it up. Tek then used an automated process to align the localized versions using the PDF files as the source.

IT Infrastructure
Tek engineers managed the technical integration. With no VPN software available to connect Tek's Mac computers running OS9 and OSX to the CMS for the Chinese and Japanese languages, the team established hardware VPN connectivity between the client's intranet and Tek. This enabled the fast exchange of files and effective management worldwide.

Key Processes

Selecting the content to be localized:
- The content was organized by product, which ensured reusability and consistent translation.
- The approval of content triggered localization.
- Exporting content without formatting tags improved its reusability.
XML Proofreading:
- Tek's macro marks reused content, eliminating redundant proofreading.
- Proofreading changes were easily tracked and reported to translators.
- The database was easily updated with the validated content.
Language Swap:
- The Quark plug-in automatically replaced the English content with an approved translation.
PDF Proofreading:
- The subsequent PDF validation focused on consistency and minor layout checks.

The Benefits

By increasing the source content's reusability and leverage of translation memories, as well as improving quality and consistency, the resources and time required for localization, DTP and validation were significantly reduced. Thanks to the new workflow, the first catalog was finished on time and with significant savings in translation costs, despite the additional initial costs for alignment. Five follow-up projects have delivered a 50% savings in translation costs.

Key Workflow Enhancements Included:

Improved content version control.
Better use of TMs and content repurposing between publications.
The automated identification of source changes.
A CMS that enabled the tracking and reuse of suitable source and translated content from a diversity of publications.
One layout template for the source content and all localized versions.