The ATA Chronicle - November/December 2017 - 14

SCHEDULING TRANSLATION PROJECTS continued
starts when the previous component is
completely translated. If feasible, the
same could apply to revision, desktop
publishing, quality assurance, and other
processes. However, it's also important
to emphasize that under specific
circumstances, ideal conditions don't
apply and all components are handled
in parallel, probably with many people
working on all the tasks.

MULTIPLE PROJECTS
Scheduling a single translation project
might already be complex, but when several
projects have to be launched for a number
of clients, the situation becomes even more
challenging. Freelance translators having
to deal with multiple requests should be
extremely cautious and accurately calculate
the time they need for each project, taking
into account the exact time frame and
priority level allocated to each one.
Facing the same kind of obligations, project
managers also have to meticulously select
the right people for each project, making

14

The ATA Chronicle | November/December 2017

sure not to overload their resources with
too many tasks assigned on the same
days. Building a multi-project schedule is
sometimes a good idea.

DETERMINING A DELIVERABLE
THAT WORKS
Not all translation projects are complex
enough to require a professional schedule,
possibly made in MS Excel or by using a
special planning tool such as MS Project.
Freelancers, and even translation project
managers, can often quickly estimate the
best delivery date by mentally calculating
the number of working days or writing
down a few notes on paper. Nevertheless,
once a project involves several people,
tasks, languages, components, or even
competes with other projects, drawing
a complete and accurate schedule is
definitely a must. Whatever the method
used, the key point remains being 100%
sure that everything has been taken into
consideration to propose or confirm a

deadline that will be met by all means
without any compromise on quality.
Nancy Matis has been involved
in the translation business for
almost 20 years, working as a
translator, reviser, technical
specialist, project manager, and
teacher, among other roles. After
obtaining degrees in translation and social and
economic sciences, she worked for an international
language services firm for several years. She
currently manages her own company based in
Belgium, specializing in localization, translation
project management, consulting, and training. She
also teaches translation project management at
Université Lille 3 (France), KU Leuven (Belgium),
Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), and
through webinars. Besides publishing articles
on project management and the importance of
teaching this subject to future translators, she
has also written about terminology management
in projects and quality assurance in translation
(www.translation-project-management.com). She
is the author of How to Manage Your Translation
Projects. Contact: nancy@nmatis.be.

www.atanet.org
http://www.translation-project-management.com http://www.1stopasia.com http://1099accountant.com http://www.atanet.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - November/December 2017
