New Core Competencies of the Localization Project Manager · 2019. 12. 23. · Quality Manager. Loc...

Standardized Competencies for the Professional Practice of Localization Project ManagementALAINA BRANDTASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICESMIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT MONTEREY

Friday, October 25, 2019 Session 064 of the 60th Annual Conference of ATA in Palm Springs

Assistant Professor: Alaina Brandt

Graduate Research Assistants:Cheng Qian, Vanessa Prolow, and Xiaofu (Rick) Dong

See sites.miis.edu/lmcc to access more of our research on the competencies of professional localization management.

ATA60sites.miis.edu/lmcc

Alaina Brandt, Assistant Professor of Professional PracticeMiddlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

LMCC Research Team

The localization industry is self regulated.

[N]o specific regulations exist for interpreters or translators. There are no state or federal standards of accountability, no governing bodies or professional oversights at any level, no board exams or education requirement of any kind. In other words, [localization and translation are]… completely self-regulated profession[s]. Anyone can practice as an interpreter or a translator regardless of their background or knowledge…

Unlike attorneys or doctors, translators do not have to prove their qualifications to anyone or operate under any particular professional standard… [C]heck[ing] credentials and provid[ing] any non-disclosure agreements required for the particular job or relationship… is truly up to the person or entity contracting the service. If this is not done properly… the consequences can be disastrous.

“The Confidentiality Dilemma in the Language Profession,” by Salua Kamerowand Nikki DiGiovanni, The Savvy Newcomer



ISO 17100 is exceedingly clear that industry regulation falls to LSPs.“The TSP shall have a documented process in place to ensure that the people selected to perform translation tasks have the required competences and qualifications” (3.1.1 General).

“Where a TSP chooses to engage a third party to perform a translation service or any part thereof, the TSP shall retain full responsibility for ensuring that all the requirements of this International Standard are met with respect to that service or any part thereof by that third party” (3.1.2 Responsibility for sub-contracted tasks).

“The TSP shall determine the translator’s qualifications to provide a service conforming to this International Standard” (3.1.4 Translator qualifications).

“The TSP shall ensure that revisers have all… [necessary] competences” (3.1.5 Professional competences of revisers).

“The TSP shall ensure that reviewers… have… relevant qualification[s]” (3.1.6 Professional competences of reviewer).



LSPs assign this regulation to LPMs. Therefore, localization project managers are our industry’s regulators.“The TSP shall ensure that project managers have the appropriate documented competence[s]” (3.1.7 Competence of translation project managers, ISO 17100).

But what are those competencies?



Purpose of the LMCC projectTo identify core competencies that are shared across diverse roles in localization management with the long-term aim of contributing to international standards of best practice related to localization management.

Alaina Brandt, Assistant Professor of Professional PracticeSpecial thanks to Graduate Research Assistant Cheng Qian


Benefits of standardization

Stimulate innovation

Shape sectors

Increase profitability

Promote competition

Benefit economy

Accelerate growth

Reduce risks for contributors

Corporate decision-makers are unaware of the strategic value of standards!



The Dark Side of Standardization

Drive up costs (prestige labelling)

Increased barrier to entry to the field which can stymie innovation

Establish monopolies

Enforce protectionism

Our intention is not to contribute to excessive barrier to entry to the field.

Our intention is to contribute to the professionalization of localization roles through consensus building and due process.

Our intention is to collect stakeholder opinions through an openand transparent process.



Decrease the learning curve




Global Strategist

Program Manager

Loc Production

Manager

LPM

Quality Manager

Loc Engineer

Account Manager

Our goal as educators and trainers is to teach the competencies foundational to these roles…

…so localization managers can succeed in these roles


Impact to the professionLOCALIZATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT

CANNOT BE AUTOMATED AWAY!

global strategy

LPM competencies

Global Strategist

Program Manager

Loc Production

Manager

LPM

Quality Manager

Loc Engineer

Account Manager

professionalization



abrandtSticky NoteProfessional localization managers should welcome automation, not fear automation. For instance, I did not get a master's degree so that I could key in data that could be compiled automatically through automation.


Spring 2018 – Sandbox

- Initial collection of ~70 LPM job descriptions √

Fall 2018 – Formalization

- TRLM 8530 f18 – job descriptions analysis- Wyckoff Award for GRA Cheng Qian on job description analysis- ATA59 presentation: “Toward Standardization of Professional Project Manager Training in the Localization Industry”

Spring 2019 – Capacity Building

- TLM corpora- TRLM 8631 –Industry pilot and LMCC corpus analysis

Fall 2019 - Evangelization

- Pilot of the industry survey (62 responses)- ATA60 presentation- TRLM 8530 f19 – job description corpus collection 2


MQMMQM CORE TYPOLOGY APPLIED TO LPM CORE COMPETENCIES



LMCC typology v.3





Global Participation

abrandtSticky NoteGlobal participation in our localization competencies survey. Results are not conclusive. We had just over 60 responses. For our study to be conclusive for the U.S. market, we need around 400 responses from practitioners in the U.S. market.



How many years of experience do you have in the localization industry?

Years

Number

Experienced Professionals

abrandtSticky NoteYears of experience of respondents - our survey was taken by many experience professionals. If you took the survey, thank you for your time!



Rank: #1/15

Rank: #2/15

Rank: #3/15

Rank: #11/15

Localization Management Competencies

abrandtSticky NoteTop management competencies for the 62 respondents. Terminology management ranked low - surprising given that standards of best practice indicate that if you don't have specifications and terminology management, you don't have quality.

Localization Best Practices & Theory



• Specification form• Terminology management• Style guide (rather than mechanical guide)

According to best practices, if specifications and terminology management are not implemented in workflows, you will not have a quality product.



GILT Competencies

abrandtSticky NoteImportance of GILT for the 62 respondents - no suprises that localization tops the list.



Participants with translation experience Participants without translation experience

Necessary - 76%

Not Necessary -24%

Not Necessary -13%

Necessary - 87%

GILT Competencies Breakdown- Translation

abrandtSticky NoteThe variation between translators and other professionals points to the fact that translators may feel that they have translation covered, so other professionals can concentrate on other competencies.

Technological Competencies



#1 - Computer Assisted Translation – 88.71%

#1 - Translation Management Systems – 88.71%

#2 - General Technological Literacy – 75.81%

#2 - Project Management Applications – 75.81%

#3 - Communication Platforms – 66.13%

#4 - Machine Translation – 62.90%

abrandtSticky NoteTop technological competencies according to 62 respondents.

A note on PEMT competenciesISO 17100 Translation competences

Translation

Linguistic and textual

Research, information acquisition, and processing

Cultural competence

Technical competence

Domain competence

ISO 18587 PEMT competences

Translation

Linguistic and textual

Research, information acquisition, and processing

Cultural competence

Technical competence

Domain competence

Professionalism: MT technology & common errors, CAT tools, follow instructions, structured feedback (for improvements to MT system over time), interaction with terminology management systems



abrandtSticky NoteAccording to ISO standards, you need to be MORE qualified to carry out PEMT than translation... Interesting given how undervalued MT is by translators.



Localization management requires an

understanding of:Disagree Middle Agree

A specific domain (medical, marketing, engineering).

32.26% 32.26% 35.48%

Legal language (NDAs, ICAs, terms & conditions)

29.03% 22.58% 48.39%

Data security (privacy policies, data protection and

retrieval)

14.52% 25.81% 59.68%

Technical Competencies

abrandtSticky NoteWhether our 62 respondents agreed or disagreed with these three statements...

Intercultural Communication & Collaboration



The professional practice of localization management requires cultural awareness.

The professional practice of localization management requires cultural sensitivity.

The professional practice of localization management requires the ability to evangelize on localization needs in ways that are appropriate to diverse stakeholders.

The professional practice of localization management requires cultural fluency.

abrandtSticky NoteNote the importance of terminology management and defining the characteristics of awareness, sensitivity, and fluency.

Intercultural Communication & Collaboration



Developing at least a limited performance level in another language is necessary to practice professionally as a localization manager. (We define “limited performance” roughly according to ILR Level 2+.)

Complete disagreement

Neither agree nor disagree

Complete agreement

1 2 3 4 5

8.06% 19.35% 16.12% 27.42% 29.03%

27.41% 16.12% 56.45%

abrandtSticky NoteAmong our 62 respondents, there seems to be some consensus that being bilingual is a must for localization management.

Research & Critical Thinking



abrandtSticky NoteThe level of agreement (on a scale of 1-5) among respondents on research and critical thinking competencies...

Contextual Competencies



abrandtSticky NoteThe level of agreement (on a scale of 1-5) among respondents on contextual competencies...

Years of Localization Experience



abrandtSticky NoteThe amount of experience 62 respondents think that localization managers need to have in order to practice in the role.

Background



abrandtSticky NoteTop three backgrounds that prepare one for localization management according to our 62 respondents...

Degree Programs



Undergraduate Programs Graduate Programs

Translation – 88.33%

Foreign Language – 78.33%

Linguistics – 66.67%

Business– 60.00%

Computer Science – 60.00%

Localization – 95.00%

International Business – 83.33%

Translation – 80.00%

Foreign Language – 66.67%

Linguistics – 40.00%

abrandtSticky NoteThe degree programs that prepare one for localization management according to our 62 respondents...

Certificates



67.74% - PMP certification (Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute)

abrandtSticky NoteThis percentage of respondents think that PMP certification is good preparation for localization management.

For Further Discussion…



abrandtSticky NotePotentially controversial questions on localization management training... Our 62 respondents indicated their level of agreement on a 5 point scale (where 5 indicated complete agreement).

Trajectory



Standardization

Industry Survey- Condense- Targeted roll out internationally in English- Translation

Job descriptions corpus 2- Analysis- Incorporation into typology

Evangelization- Interviews- Presentations

abrandtSticky NoteWhile we plan to use our questionnaire to survey markets outside the U.S., we note that U.S. research cannot and should not be imposed on other markets. Other markets should do their own studies, and the results of all markets should be harmonized into an international standard.

Thank you contributors!



• GRAs Cheng Qian, Vanessa Prolow, and Xiaofu (Rick) Dong• ANSI University Outreach Program• Wyckoff Award• Endowment for Academic Excellence Award• Dr. Netta Avineri (IEMG8605 – Survey Design)• Students in the fall 2018 rendition of TRLM 8530 (LPM)• Students in the spring 2019 rendition of TRLM 8631 (Advanced LPM)• Adam Wooten and Winnie Heh• Survey respondents!!!

Standardized Competencies for the Professional Practice of Localization Project ManagementAssistant Professor: Alaina Brandt��Graduate Research Assistants:�Cheng Qian, Vanessa Prolow, and Xiaofu (Rick) Dong��See sites.miis.edu/lmcc to access more of our research on the competencies of professional localization management.The localization industry is self regulated.ISO 17100 is exceedingly clear that industry regulation falls to LSPs.LSPs assign this regulation to LPMs. Therefore, localization project managers are our industry’s regulators.Purpose of the LMCC projectBenefits of standardizationThe Dark Side of StandardizationDecrease the learning curveSlide Number 10Impact to the professionSlide Number 12MQMLMCC typology v.3Global ParticipationSlide Number 16Slide Number 17Localization Best Practices & TheoryGILT CompetenciesSlide Number 20Slide Number 21Technological CompetenciesA note on PEMT competenciesTechnical CompetenciesIntercultural Communication & CollaborationIntercultural Communication & CollaborationResearch & Critical Thinking Contextual CompetenciesYears of Localization Experience BackgroundDegree Programs CertificatesFor Further Discussion…TrajectorySlide Number 35Thank you contributors!

New Core Competencies of the Localization Project Manager · 2019. 12. 23. · Quality Manager. Loc...

Documents

Transcript of New Core Competencies of the Localization Project Manager · 2019. 12. 23. · Quality Manager. Loc...