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The traditional model of development and localization. Everything happens sequentially: first development, then translation, integration and testing, and back to localization. This might happen even when localization companies cooperate with agile organisations. Things are agile until the localization part starts. The result? Localized versions are delivered later than the source.

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If you want to be agile in localization, you need to think about lean too. You can’t you to have unnecessary steps along the way. However, lean is not only a question of streamlining processes and finding time and cost savings, but also a way to give a better experience to internal and external clients. Being lean can enable you to be more customer focused and you shouldn't only focus on being lean yourself, but also help your customers to achieve a better process.

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Clients’ core expectation when they start a localization project: To get their documents, software, etc. in another language, i.e. translation. For the end user costs can still look like this: 90% something else and 10% translation costs. From a lean perspective very important: This small piece of the pie is the only thing that LSPs always have to provide to their clients. Everything else might be optional.

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The need for lean approach is not only internal. LSPs naturally have to manage their costs in order to stay competitive, but they also have to help the client to be Lean in their processes, to save money or time or both. And that not only by giving them as low word prices as possible.

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Case 1, where a Lean process is essential: client is doing continuous software localization, often in agile mode. Software development never stops, unless the product is killed. Every new release is just the beginning for more development and iteration. A sprint takes 1 to 4 weeks. During that time more code is released and therefore also translatable material. The localization process must keep the same pace as development. In a week’s translation cycle, there’s no extra time in the process. Files can’t wait to be processed in various stages of the process, because people are overloaded. On the other hand, this is an iterative and flexible process and it might not always be mandatory to get everything ready during a certain week, but translations can often be updated even during later sprints.

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Case 2, outside of software development: very small tasks. These are challenging for number of reasons: 1. You most likely need to have a minimum charge to cover the costs. Client might

not like this.

2. Translators very often hate these projects, since the peripheral tasks take more time than translation.

Very small tasks need to be handled in a lean process to be profitable for the LSP and also to help the translator.

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Lean has it’s origins in manufacturing (Toyota). Below a few points and what they mean in localization. 1. IDENTIFYING CUSTOMER VALUE

Remember that it is about CLIENT value. Start looking at each and every step around the core task (e.g. translation) and ask, would the client pay me for doing this?

2. PRODUCING CUSTOMER VALUE When you know what is of value to client, produce that. It is very easy to overproduce in localization. E.g. you could do quality assurance as long as you want and always find something to correct and you could fill out endless forms about process steps.

3. ELIMINATING WASTE What doesn’t add customer value, is waste that you should get rid of. Lean principles identify seven types of waste, listed on the next slide.

4. START OVER Lean is a continuous process. So when you have improved your process and cut out waste, start over and get rid of even more waste.

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When an organization wants to be leaner, here are a few basic steps: 1. Get to know your processes in detail. Standardize certain tasks.

2. Know your people, their technical skills and especially what they can contribute to

process automation.

3. Check the tools market, there are a lot of tools out there that help streamline project management and localization engineering. Do calculations and pick tools that do the right thing and are of the ”right” size.

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What can someone working on a lean process learn from how crowdsourced localization processes often are built up? - Communication distance In many crowdsourcing and community translation

projects the distance between the project owner and the translator is very short. Could some steps and middle men be removed in your professional process?

- Openness In community efforts the community usually gets to communicate with each other. If someone has a problem, it doesn’t always have to be the project owner who solves it, but it can also be another community member. Not everything has to run through the LSP’s PM.

- Process Crowdsourcing tools and processes are often extremely lightweight and easy to learn. Volunteer translators can’t be chased away with heavy processes. Why should professionals?

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If you have a simple translation task coming in, you don’t necessarily need to have the traditional workflow with file sending back and forth. A web interface that handles many different file formats might be a good solution. Client gets quotes quickly and LSP doesn’t need to use a lot of time on quoting for simple tasks.

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Simplified model of tasks needed during a continuous translation workflow. Conversions can be replaced by tools that handle native formats

Manually written emails in all stages are not necessary in an automated workflow.

Status inquiries are replaced by an online tool that shows the status live.

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In agile focus is on communication, adaptation and quickly accomplishing something that works. To not define unnecessarily and unendlessly, but to do. Development is usually done in sprints that often last two weeks. At the end of

each sprint you should have working software at your hands. You don’t measure success through the plans you have, but through what you have delivered.

Agile development is not a project or a burst of development, it’s a way of thinking and doing.

Localization is rarely done on-site and by internal people. There are numerous subcontractors and subcontractors’ subcontractors involved in the process. What can you do about communication?

Even in localization you should empower your subcontractors and let them be your partners. Help them to help you.

Agile software development is • Not one way of working, but many that have common traits • Agile is not the same as being without a process. It is a process that can handle

change especially well. • In Agile there are many practices: scrum, pair programming, etc.

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Some typical traits of agile localization.

1. SHORT TAT

2. FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTATION Remember: If you create a quick but inflexible process, you’re not agile.

3. ”WORKING” TRANSLATIONS You don’w always have to squeeze your whole quality process into the first delivery, the final result can be delivered later on.

4. TOOLS You need technical solutions to be able to cope with agile.

5. DIRECT COMMUNICATION Make translators easy to reach and enable quick communication between translators, project managers and the developers.

6. EARLY INVOLVEMENT

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LOVOO development: • 4 development teams who handle their materials independently • 2 week sprints for every team • Automated uploads, but also per press of button

• Approximately 3 uploads per sprint for iOS and Android • Upload every morning for Web and Backend

• Automated downloads Translators • Translations by internal people, Get Localization translators, translators from other

agencies and freelancers. Platform • Translations are done on the Get Localization Web platform, where all people,

both internal and external do their work at the same time.

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1. Quick and easy solution for updates of large amount of files, API 2. Directly accessible translators 3. Continuously the same translators 4. Good overview of changes in the source material 5. Short turn-around-times 6. Good and easy status overview 7. Online interface is a must

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Agile and lean are opportunities. Being an agile partner is your chance to provide new and existing clients with a better experience than before. It is your chance to get closer to the client. Lean is your chance to focus on the essential and be more efficient. Think about processes and tools. Create good processes, but don’t add non-value adding parts to them. Make it ”lean” for your internals and externals Remember that agile and lean are something that have to go through your whole company, your clients and also your subcontractors.

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