Workflow Sample: Translation

Showing posts with label Translation. Show all posts

Measuring working time on certain process

For example, when you want to measure the "time required for translation" in the translation process, you can consider a method that having "reporting (inputting)" actual working time" together with the"translation result".

However, in that method, it requires to have the workers to measure the actual work time in the means such as;

Write down the start time
Use old-fashioned stopwatch
Use a stopwatch software to measure working time
Use the "Stopwatch button" displayed on the screen of entering the translation

Such an act of "self-measuring and reporting working hours" must be a major effort.

* However, there are still advantages that it is possible to respond flexibly, such as temporarily stopping the measurement, when time to be excluded such as "coffee break" or "corresponding to interrupt work " occurs halfway.

The accuracy of the reported value

Also, "Inaccurate actual work time" may be reported as a result.

For example, the "work time" would be entered a little differently from the fact, if it is a system in which some incentive affects to make the "translation time" looks shorter (or longer) in terms of personnel evaluation and ability assessment.

Alternatively, if there are workers who are proud of their outcome of the work itself and have no interest in such as "translation time", we have to assume that 'perfunctory data' will be entered.

[Translation flow]

"I can't see how many man-hours inside..."

"Visualization of operating costs" is an important subject in the corporate activities. Moreover, a wide variety of expression technique should be possible by the evolution of Information Processing Technology and Communication Technology of today.

"GPS logger", moving path can be seen (Move map)
"Thermography", heat distribution can be seen (Infrared thermal image)
"EVM graph", budget history can be seen (Completion transition graph)

* GPS: Global Positioning System, EVM: Earned Value Management

"Hmm, I want to visualize it somehow..."

However, on the other hand, how to collect the information of "Actual work time", which is essential data, would be the major challenge when you want to put "internal man-hours" as the theme.

[General-purpose work request - work cost]

'I want to experience "Workflow", but don't know how should try it out with which business.'

Especially, it would be worrisome if you 'want to try as an organization' rather than 'trying alone'. For example, supposing if you want to put 'Daily reporting' on Workflow to achieve paperless, it is pitiful for the testing people as they must do the both of conventional manner and Cloud manner during the test period.

The following is a "General work request flow" that is often set at the time of trial for a Workflow product.
It can be used in the operations that is not "Workflow & paperless". That is, if you brought this template into operation as a Workflow, you are able to experience that throwing various requests to the member of the company. And also people on the side that has received the request can experience that "My Tasks" are accumulated gradually to the Workflow product.

'Please create icons for the new product.'
'I'd like a review on the created material.'
'Can I ask you the data extraction from the previous ad?'

Insidentally, although this "General-purpose work request" is a workflow which has been introduced here and there, the exceelency of "General work request flow" here in this article is the indication of "Time cost" on the screen for making request.

(Even though I cannot express very well,) it makes you 'hard to ask a request' in a good sense. (You cannot make request so freely.) In other words, you will become more precise in making requests.

<Time cost> (criterion)

Officer: $100 /h
Manager: $75/h
Regular employee: $ 50/h
Part-timer: $ 25 /h

[General-purpose work request]

Manuals, Press release, Website...

Translation job is born in various sections. Certainly, Outsourcing and Crowdsourcing could be the options for 'translation on common matters'. However, I would say, translation of sentences that are full of terminology should be done in-house. (Or else, you should concentrate on specific translation requestee.)

The following is a simple translating operation.

Notably, that it displays the sentences to be translated on the left side of 'two column layout', and the translation can be written in the Input field on the right side. Particularly for shorter manuscript, the translator will treat it quickly only with the Web browser. (The Spellchecker as browser plug-in would also be helpful.)

Also, it can be said it is very excellent that "the amount of work" (number of characters in the translation) is automatically measured, in addition to recording of basic Workflow information such as Who/ When.

[Translation flow]

Few days until the end of 2014...

Thanks to you reader's support, I could achieve "Weekly posts" somehow. This entry will be 52nd in 2014, 411th in total proposing Business process.(*) Taking this opportunity, please allow me to express my sincerest gratitude to the readers of Workflow Samples, especially who gave me requests to write specific Processes, and who gave me comments and impressions on my posting.

*) 51 titles in 2014, 52 in 2013, 53 in 2012, 186 in 2011, 68 in 2010
*) One or two business samples [QAR] attached to each article, so the total number of the samples has become approximately 700.

Looking back, people talk about me that 'I'll be a quitter soon', especially the very beginning of this blog. Well, indeed, there is some proposition of Business Process which are 'no big deal' among them. But I'm willing to continue writing articles. So please help me by giving me 'pep talk' and 'straightforward feedback'

Articles Most Read in Japanese in 2014

Making an Extensive Agreement History List with an Agreement Workflow (2010-11-12)
Split Conditions are a Basic Concept in BPMN (2011-04-03)
A Simple Flow Against Complaint (2011-06-06)
A Workflow Definition that Guides Daily and Weekly Report (2011-11-07)
Returning a Prompt Initial Response Is Crucial (2011-04-02)

Articles Most Read in English in 2014]

Improving Your Accounts Payable Process in Steps (2011-05-13)
Reporting Each Client Visit Right After Returning to the Office (2011-02-15)
Visualization of Testing Process in Software Development (2010-12-20)
Workflow Across The Enterprise, From Quotation To Payment Confirmation (2011-06-05)
Is Complaint Management Perfect for Training New Employees? (2011-04-01)

Well, now,

The following is the last introducing of Business examples in 2014, which is a very simple 'Blog Entry flow'.

[Blog Entry flow]

There are a lot of 'documents to be referred by many people' in a company.
It would be a wide variety of types of documents such as, 'User's Manual' of products, 'Work Manual' of work site, 'Template of Agreement', or 'Company Regulations'. And it would be a big affliction to continue maintenance upon them. Moreover, it would be extremely difficult to control if the documents were required 'to be translated into other languages' at time of revision.

The following Process Diagram shows the work procedure of revising 'Product Manual'. By bringing this Business Process Definition into the system, the locations of revisions and person who finally checked will be recorded automatically.

[Manual Revising]

Considering "a Workflow" to be incorporated into "a Workflow". (What?)

That is, "the jobs on which professional skills should be exerted cross-sectoral". Although it may differ greatly depending on company size or its Business Activities, these are in varieties such as "Typo Checking", "Document Translation", "Trademark Law Violation Check" and "Presentation materials brush up", so on.

The following Workflow definition is, a "Document Translation flow" for a company in which 'Japanese -English document translation' would occur in many different sections. It is excellent because it is designed to be called (be incorporated) from another Workflow. Moreover, it will send translated document data, back to 'the Process of the original' on completion of translating. It is a mechanism of "Subroutine" speaking in terms of the old IT terminology. We might call it "Subprocess call" in BPM basis.

This team, we should call it "Translation Center in-house", is a group of specialized technicians. Defining 'Inputs to them' and 'Outputs from them' will greatly contribute to improvement in business efficiency. (It might suggest for telecommuting system.) By the way, it could often be controversial that 'it should be outsourced to focus on our own business', but there is a big difference in the work quality because they have a deeper knowledge of in-house term and specialized term.

[Document Translation flow]

We talked about translation processes in Translation Workflows Have Clear Tasks and Owners. But what if we want to translation into three languages?

First of all we have to decide whether we want all translations done simultaneously or sequentially. If we are talking about translating an English document into three languages (e.g., Japanese, Spanish and Chinese) there should be no problem running all translation tasks simultaneously.

A translation process is not often given time in the limelight, but it is one that is surprisingly effective as a workflow. Unlike many workflows, it's clear who is in charge of which tasks, and this makes modeling and improving easy. Tasks done by remote workers and outsourced staff are easily managed as well.

We talk about how it is important to divide processes into tasks and assign ownership to each of them in our online document The Golden Rules of Business Process Modeling