Linguistic Quality Assurance is the process of objectively evaluating translations based on a schema of error types.
Strings in any post-translation step type configured with an LQA schema can be evaluated by any user who has access to the translation in the CAT Tool or Review Mode.
The person evaluating translations should be a native speaker of the translation language.
How to Record Errors With LQA
When strings are in the LQA step,
- Enter the CAT Tool or Review Mode
- On the string you want to record an error on, click the LQA action. If this is the first time evaluating the string, the action button is labeled "LQA Not Reviewed"
- This opens the LQA dialog where linguists can evaluate the translation
- Do one of the following:
- If there is no error on the strings, record it by clicking Mark as "No Error"
- If there is an error, click Record Error and continue
- Choose a Category and Error Type and record the Severity. You can leave a comment with further information on the evaluation.
- When you're done, click Save
- Linguists can add as many errors as needed for a translation by clicking New Error
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Arbitration comments can be offered as a means of dialog on any error. Simply click the error to add an arbitration comment
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This creates a dialog under the disputed error. The arbitration comments are counted for each error under the Arbitration comment column.
You can also arbitrate any errors recorded on any Job under Reports > Linguistic Quality Assurance Errors & Arbitration.
If no quality errors are found
If the translation has no quality errors, click Mark as "No Error" or skip the string entirely. It is not necessary to open the LQA dialog to Record No Errors on a string, as the CAT Tool will handle this when the user clicks Submit once the evaluation is complete.
When a translation is evaluated, the LQA action updates to LQA Errors (number of errors recorded) or No LQA Errors.
You can always reevaluate a translation at any time before clicking Submit.
View LQA Schema Details
Reviewers can view the LQA Schema Details by clicking on the LQA Schema Details tab. Here, they can reference the categories and error types and their descriptions.
Editing Translations During LQA
As you complete your LQA assessment, you have the ability to save and edit translations. Content owners can decide whether LQA should be completed in the production project or in a dedicated LQA project using Smartling's LQA Suite. If you are conducting LQA in a production project, you will be directly editing and reviewing production strings.
A production project refers to a Smartling project used for translation. An LQA project is a specific type of Smartling project used exclusively for conducting LQA. Content owners can create LQA projects using Smartling's LQA Suite.
If you are assigned to an LQA job in a dedicated LQA project, you will be working with translation "snapshots." This content is a snapshot of the translations from the production project. If you edit and save a translation in an LQA project, this edited translation does not automatically propagate to the production project string. However, content owners can enable LQA Suite's Round-Trip feature, which allows you to send edited translations back to the production project strings.
If the Round-trip feature is enabled, when you go to save a string, a modal will appear with visual cues to help you identify the differences between the current translation in the original project (which may differ from the translation evaluated during LQA) and the edited translation you are saving in the LQA project.
Once you review the differences, you have two options:
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Save & Update: Your edit will be saved in the LQA job where you are currently working, and the original translation in the production project will be updated to reflect your changes. The translation will be saved to the LQA project's TM and the relevant translation memory unit (TU) from the production project will be updated.
Updating a production translation using the Save & Update action does not change its status in the production project (i.e., the production string is not automatically submitted to the next step).
Be aware that the original translation may still be in progress at the time you edit the translation. This is important as it might interfere with other linguists' work in the production project. If you suspect the translation is still in progress in the production project, we recommend you select the Skip option. The edited translation you've saved can always be sent back to the production project later by an Account Owner or Project Manager.
- Skip: Your edit will be saved in the LQA job where you are currently working and the translation will be saved to the LQA project's TM, but the original translation in the production project will not be updated.
If the original project translation has been removed, excluded, or is otherwise unavailable for updating, the following message will appear:
Updated translation can not be applied to the original project as the string is either awaiting authorization, excluded, inactive or deleted.
The "Save & Update" button will be inactive, indicating that the original project translation cannot be modified.
Have questions about LQA Suite and translation Round-trip? Check out the LQA Suite FAQ.
Considerations
Errors vs No Errors
To really understand quality, it’s just as important to know what translations you have with no errors as well as those that do have errors. In this regard, recording that the translation has “No Errors” during the LQA evaluation is critical. Submitting translations from an LQA step without errors will automatically be recorded as no errors; meaning it’s not necessary to record No Quality Errors in the dialog.
The LQA process should be carried out in the CAT tool or in Review mode for all strings. If strings are not reviewed in the CAT tool or Review mode and are instead submitted via the Strings View, no LQA data will be recorded.
Example Scenarios:
- No error is recorded for a string, and the string is not marked as "No error." If the string is submitted to the next step via the Strings View action "Submit to next step", no LQA data will be recorded.
- No error is recorded for a string, and the string is not marked as "No error." If the string is submitted to the next step in the CAT tool or Review mode, it will automatically be recorded as "No error."
Errors apply to entire strings, not segments
When recording an error, the error is applied to the entire string, even if the string is broken up into segments for translation. The comment function allows you to be specific about what terms in the string/segment the error is related to. It is important to be specific in the comments if there can be any ambiguity as to where the error is exactly.
Edited vs Unedited Translations
As a reviewer, you may choose to edit the translations submitted for your review and error recording. It is important to remember that regardless if you edit the translation before or after recording an error, the translation that the error is recorded on is the translation that was submitted to your workflow step.
Viewing Changes Made to Translations
As mentioned above, an error is recorded on the translation that was submitted to your workflow step. You can edit a translation before or after you record an error. You can then view the difference between the unedited translation (the translation the error is recorded on) and the edited translation (the translation that you will submit to the next step of the workflow).
The change (or diff) is highlighted for your attention and includes spaces.