| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Which CAT tool do you recommend for a new translation department? Thread poster: Talerone
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Talerone 
Canada
Local time: 17:04
TOPIC STARTER | You tube research, past experience and available budget | Nov 15, 2012 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Who told you, and on what grounds, that Studio was more efficient than other tools, or how did you reach that conclusion? It would be interesting to know.
I chose Trados because:
1) I have worked with it in the past
2) While looking for quick tutorials on You Tube, I found a couple of good ones for Trados and 0 for memoQ's equivalent of Profesional Studio 2011 (which was my 2nd choice)
3) I then received an email from Kilgray stating that they were experimenting a backlog in their troubleshooting services
4)I believe the company I will be working for can afford Trados and save some precious time refining the work process instead of dealing with "small bugs" and compatibility issues that come with MemoQ - which I think is a good software with a great support team, but still needs to work out some quirks.
5) I also worked with Wordfast and prefer Trados if given the choice.
Kathy
| | | | Gyula Erdesz
Hungary
Local time: 23:04
Member (2009)
English to Hungarian
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Sorry for my previous post. Everyone has the right to make unreasonable decisions.
[Módosítva: 2012-11-15 20:22 GMT]
[Módosítva: 2012-11-15 20:31 GMT]
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Talerone wrote: Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Who told you, and on what grounds, that Studio was more efficient than other tools, or how did you reach that conclusion? It would be interesting to know. 1) I have worked with it in the past
OK. Nothing to object to that.
Talerone wrote:
2) While looking for quick tutorials on You Tube, I found a couple of good ones for Trados and 0 for memoQ's equivalent of Profesional Studio 2011 (which was my 2nd choice)
Maybe you missed Kilgray's website. There you can easily find plenty of detailed and professionally prepared webinars about all aspects of memoQ.
Talerone wrote:
3) I then received an email from Kilgray stating that they were experimenting a backlog in their troubleshooting services
Even with backlogs, holidays, conferences, and everything, over the last 3 years every time I have needed it they came back to me in under 2 hours, which is a great service compared to other vendors.
Talerone wrote:
4)I believe the company I will be working for can afford Trados and save some precious time refining the work process instead of dealing with "small bugs" and compatibility issues that come with MemoQ - which I think is a good software with a great support team, but still needs to work out some quirks.
Oh my God. You only have to check the fora in Proz.com to see how many users had trouble with Studio and compare that with those who had trouble with memoQ.
Are you sure you really wanted an opinion? Looks like you had your decision before this forum was posted.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 14:04
English to German
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In memoriam | @ Wolfgang: CAT tool for marketing texts? | Nov 15, 2012 |
Wolfgang Jörissen wrote:
Most self respecting vendors will have their own system into which they invested money to buy it and time to master it.
Most of the "free copies" delivered by outsourcers that I have seen had very limited capabilities and slowed me down considerably. Not only do they get me out of my routine, they also cut me off from my resources that I have gathered in several years.
Of all types of texts, marketing texts are the least repetitive ones and each one is supposed to be unique. My clients don't expect me to use CAT tools for such tasks and prefer decent copy writing instead. So I guess the outsourcer might be forced to make a choice - "a self respecting vendor" (haha!) with matching software or a vendor who actually can write marketing texts.
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Steven Segaert
Estonia
Local time: 00:04
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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| "Resources" equals more than a TM... | Nov 15, 2012 |
@Nicole - The "resources" I use entail more than just TMs. I also (and mostly) use Term Bases, gather reference documents from the client to match the desired style, and have added words to the spell checker, for example.
I can't use these resources if I have to use online tools.
By which I don't mean to pretend that I am a good copywriter - I believe that is a different job alltogether.
| | | | Talerone
Canada
Local time: 17:04
TOPIC STARTER | You have to love a decisive woman | Nov 15, 2012 |
Sorry if I passed on your preferred tool, guys. I would probably go for MemoQ as a freelancer but this is not the case and I do think Trados is a better choice - from a business point of you.
Glad to see passion still runs deep amongst translators... ;o)
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 14:04
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | The business point | Nov 16, 2012 |
Talerone wrote:
Sorry if I passed on your preferred tool, guys. I would probably go for MemoQ as a freelancer but this is not the case and I do think Trados is a better choice - from a business point of you.
Glad to see passion still runs deep amongst translators... ;o)
Here is an example what happens when PMs "decide" what's best:
A long-term client of mine hired a handful of new PMs. Those young people were not familiar with the CAT tool that had been standard at this agency (I have been working for this agency for 7 years now). To cover up their shortcomings, the PMs booked translators who were not familiar with the highly technical contents (apparently not important) but hey!, they used CAT tools that the PMs could deal with. It turned out that they didn't even know how to prepare files. All of the sudden, said PMs started to forward furious emails by their end clients, asking for help. "Please, we need your insight. Who is right, the client or the other translator?" After the third email by two different agency clients regarding incompetent and faulty translations, I was fed up and stopped co-operation. They lost one of their largest clients over this matter.
Ah, the business point of choosing CAT tools over expertise.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 14:04
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | :-) That's what I was talking about. | Nov 16, 2012 |
Talerone wrote:
I chose Trados because:
1) I have worked with it in the past
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| @Nicole: Yes, a CAT tool (also) for marketing texts | Nov 16, 2012 |
I think it is a misconception that CAT tools lend themselves for repetitive texts only, and calling it "matching software" is a limited view on what it actually does, focusing only on one feature.
In my case, 98% of what I am doing is processed using CAT tools, even occasionally including fiction. For the simple reason that I want to be able to find the solution I used for a certain word even 10 years from at the touch of a button. My TMs comprise over a million entries, gathered over the... See more I think it is a misconception that CAT tools lend themselves for repetitive texts only, and calling it "matching software" is a limited view on what it actually does, focusing only on one feature.
In my case, 98% of what I am doing is processed using CAT tools, even occasionally including fiction. For the simple reason that I want to be able to find the solution I used for a certain word even 10 years from at the touch of a button. My TMs comprise over a million entries, gathered over the years, which is a resource I do not want to miss. Some people use search engines, and so do I, but I look into my TM first.
Usage of TM software might affect your creativity (especially if you focus on re-using as much old material as you can), but it certainly does not have to. In fact, many of my clients hire me for rather creative work. All in all, the way you work is a matter of personal choice and should not be criticized, as long a the final result is ok.
Nicole Schnell wrote: Wolfgang Jörissen wrote:
Most self respecting vendors will have their own system into which they invested money to buy it and time to master it.
Most of the "free copies" delivered by outsourcers that I have seen had very limited capabilities and slowed me down considerably. Not only do they get me out of my routine, they also cut me off from my resources that I have gathered in several years.
Of all types of texts, marketing texts are the least repetitive ones and each one is supposed to be unique. My clients don't expect me to use CAT tools for such tasks and prefer decent copy writing instead. So I guess the outsourcer might be forced to make a choice - "a self respecting vendor" (haha!) with matching software or a vendor who actually can write marketing texts. ▲ Collapse
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Wolfgang Jörissen wrote:
In my case, 98% of what I am doing is processed using CAT tools, even occasionally including fiction. For the simple reason that I want to be able to find the solution I used for a certain word even 10 years from at the touch of a button.
I completely agree with this. In our office we translate a fair deal of marketing materials, and being able to keep track of end customers' terminology, product names, approved slogans, business unit names, job names, and other preferences by means of termbases and TMs saves a lot of time and gives the customer a sense of quality and the feeling that we care about their feedback.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 14:04
English to German
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In memoriam | @ Wolfgang and Tomás | Nov 17, 2012 |
I absolutely agree with you regarding the usefulness of such tools. I couldn't do without whenever I write my technical manuals or gigantic websites. Well, I could but I am way too lazy. CAT tools are easy to learn and I work with 4 different ones.
My point is: Keep this tool as what it is - a mere, stupid TOOL, for heaven's sake.
To use a particular brand as a selection criterion when it comes to selecting the appropriate translator for a particular job is wildly pop... See more I absolutely agree with you regarding the usefulness of such tools. I couldn't do without whenever I write my technical manuals or gigantic websites. Well, I could but I am way too lazy. CAT tools are easy to learn and I work with 4 different ones.
My point is: Keep this tool as what it is - a mere, stupid TOOL, for heaven's sake.
To use a particular brand as a selection criterion when it comes to selecting the appropriate translator for a particular job is wildly popular among lousy, mediocre PMs in mediocre agencies whose "business point" doesn't reach further than the end of their desk and their next personal paycheck. ▲ Collapse
| | | | pep
Local time: 23:04
English to Spanish
| Simulate a test with the information you have | Nov 17, 2012 |
Since you have a very, very narrow set of file formats to support, I think that your best bet would be to run a simulated test drive each of the 3 shortlisted tools with relevant drives those formats. I'm sure there are other tools that deserved to be shortlisted but this is not the point: you need to shortlist before you test them.
Depending on your intended workflow there are several roles to consider: for example, the PM, the Translator, the Reviser, the DTP operator.
... See more Since you have a very, very narrow set of file formats to support, I think that your best bet would be to run a simulated test drive each of the 3 shortlisted tools with relevant drives those formats. I'm sure there are other tools that deserved to be shortlisted but this is not the point: you need to shortlist before you test them.
Depending on your intended workflow there are several roles to consider: for example, the PM, the Translator, the Reviser, the DTP operator.
Take representative files and simulate working with them: which tool processes them faster, with fewer conversion issues, which are best presented to the translator, how do the word counts work and how they compare with each of the tools (new translation, leverage), which have the most convenient review mode, which traceability is available.
Since you have experience on the trade, you probably put yourself the hat for each of these roles (not only the hat for the role you will perform if you are really looking at it broadly) and try to get a feel on which tool prefer for each of these roles and why.
Then, with the opinion of each of these roles clear, try to hold a virtual meeting on your mind of all the roles and make a decision.
Try to detach other factors might be misleading on the decision of the choosing the product that really suits you, as these factors could be more geared towards a decision on choosing the supplier company, but not the product. These factors are useful to the initial shortlist but can become noise and not signal in your decision for the best product.
For example, a strong brand might be the result of a strong investment on marketing but the product might not necessarily be up to the standards of that marketing investment, or a great suport might be the symptom of a buggy product since products with fewer bugs happen to need very little support, so people don't really talk about how good or bad its support is, and that is because the product just works. ▲ Collapse
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