2x4 SmartTranslate reviewed
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Tim Macer reviews a workflow suite designed to take the pain out of translating and managing survey texts.
As anyone who has worked on a multi-country study will know, no matter how much time you allow for translating the questionnaire into five or ten different languages, it never seems long enough. This makes 2x4 SmartTranslate an appealing proposition, as it aims to reduce the effort and time involved. It will sit alongside most major MR data collection systems, feeding complete, edited and approved translations back into the main CAI platform in a system-compatible format, and providing an intelligent workflow for research and translation managers. What the tool does not attempt to do is any machine translation - it exists purely to support professional translators. Automation is limited to the management of the task.
Language handling in general is a stunted feature in even the most sophisticated interviewing systems, which leaves a gap for a product like this. The built-in tools are invariably clumsy and unambitious in their scope and some packages further down the sophistication hierarchy simply ignore the issue completely - although for these, even 2x4 SmartTranslate will not be much help.
Packages that do support multiple languages tend to offer either an internal or an external method to get the translation done (some offer both). With the internal approach, a specific translator’s interface is provided to present each text to be translated. With the external method, all the text of the master language is extracted and passed out to a Word or Excel document for translators to work on. It is then translated and re-imported. The latter is the more popular method, because it is much more convenient for the translators. It is also extremely error-prone, because the slightest change to the format of the document in the hands of the translator can result in the text failing to import or, worse, misaligning so the text gets corrupted.
2x4 SmartTranslate brings order and oversight to this chaos. It understands the native formats provided by most of the main interviewing system, including Confirmit, SPSS, Globalpark, MI Pro, NEBU, Techneos, Voxco and even Triple-S (though for Triple-S to be useful, the CAI system must also be able to import text from Triple-S, which is not typical). Once this tool gets hold of the text, it ensures that any formatting, including placeholders for inline text piping is preserved (e.g. where a brand
name or a value is inserted dynamically) and the translated file will be a perfect match for the receiving survey.
It does much more than this: this software is exuberant in the support it provides for every stage of the journey from yes to oui and ja to si. Currently 127 languages are supported for translations and at present the interface speaks English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.
Typically, translators receive a familiar Word or and Excel file to work with. Rather cannily, the software only extracts texts that need translating. If it already has a pre-existing translation or the question or answer is simply a repetition of an earlier one it will omit it and apply the existing translation - a feature that can save some cost over time. In addition to building up a library of translations you can create a dictionary of brands, which are then tracked to ensure any translations received continue to refer to brands where they should - avoiding another source of error.
All translations uploaded are checked by the system against the version despatched, and problems are flagged for correction, or to refer back to the translator. There are different roles in the system for managers and reviewers, so that once a translation has loaded, a reviewer can check it and within the interface, add comments or
make changes. The software is aimed at both translation agencies and research agencies, and works at its best when brokering work between them.
The research company, a local office or even their client could review the translation and add review comments. Any corrections can be referred back to the translation agency for them to correct. Reviewers, agency managers and translators can each have their own logins with their own passwords - you can define your own roles too.
And to reassure translation agency managers that their research clients are not going to poach their translators, names and contact details of translators can be
protected and anonymised, even in the review process.
Although a web-based tool, this is is a very complicated piece of software, and the interface would benefit from some rationalisation. Project managers require about two days of training, and around two weeks working to become comfortable with it. As it stands, this level of investment is a hindrance to any kind of spontaneous usage. The cost is offputting too, which on a four-language study with around 2,000 original words to translate, will run to around £400 for that one job - with the translation costs coming on top. The complexity is not helped by some rather impenetrable and, in English at least, incomplete documentation in the current version.
It is a pity the high cost commitment makes 2x4 SmartTranslate hard to justify on a simple ROI basis – but it’s a tool that should appeal to those with high volumes and a long-term view. If you have both, this clever piece of software will effectively buy you time – right in the middle of the survey production cycle where it can bring most benefit.
The verdict: 2x4 SmartTranslate
Web-based workflow suite for managing foreign language translations of survey texts and providing accurate system-ready translated text files in a wide range of formats. Compatible with most popular MR data collection packages.
Ease of use: 3 1/2 out of 5
Cross-platform compatibility: 5 out of 5
Value for money: 3 out of 5
Cost
On usage basis, calculated on the number of words to be translated in the master questionnaire. Starts at ?0.80 per word per language, with volume discounts available starting at 100,000 words. One-day training course costs ?1000 which includes a 12,500 word translation credit to your 2x4 SmartTranslate account.
Pros
• Greatly improves speed and efficiency of survey translations, especially at the review stage
• Reduces scope for error by automating all text handling
• Integrates with the majority of mainstream data collection platforms
• Web-based - works with most browsers
Cons
• Expensive
• Over-complex in parts
• Incomplete help
Further info: www.2x4.de
Client perspective: Peter Brabazon, Transatlantic Translations, London
Transatlantic Translations is a global provider of translations specialising in MR surveys. Peter Brabazon, group business director and MD of its London office, implemented SmartTranslate at the beginning of the year. He comments: “We first became interested it because we were running into numerous issues with a client that uses Confirmit, and that software often causes translators problems. You have to extract the text and then copy and paste it back in again – it is highly inefficient and there is a very existent danger of corruption.” Switching to SmartTranslate, he noted, “all the issues we faced with consistency, copying and pasting, and corruption disappeared overnight. As a result we are able to deliver our client pristine translations in the format they want, and in a quicker time.
“It has other advantages. Previously we’d only been able to use translators who were familiar with the Confirmit process, and now we were able to use a lot more translators.”
The first step was a six-week trial that Transatlantic carried out with a key client, one of the major online panel companies, with 50% of the work run in ST and 50% run conventionally. “We did that so they could actually see the differences in time, and the process and efficiencies of SmartTranslate. It is now de rigueur as far as all as their work is concerned, and other people have now started to use it.”
It is not an easy sell, though. The relatively high cost of the software has actually meant Transatlantic’s rate has had to increase by a few pence for jobs that use the software. “I’d say 85% of translation clients just want the cheapest deal. The client goes for the cheapest quote and usually isn’t really interested in why our cost is more.”
However, he reports success with several of the larger research providers that have taken time to look at the overall benefits. “The cost savings are there but they are hidden – it’s often in the time the client spend dealing with the translation on their side. But it really means we have to go out and promote this software, and get them to understand it.”
“The software looks complex,” says Brabazon, “but provided you have a clear cut application and you have been trained how to use it, once you get used to it, it’s very easy, very simple and very functional.”
Brabazon concludes: “What I like is that it works with at least ten different platforms. There was only one we found it did not work with, and in a week 2x4 came up with a solution for that. It’s a very exciting piece of software: it’s taking the translation of market research documents to a much more efficient and I’d say, a much more intellectual level.”
