Single Proofreader Model (more details)

As previously mentioned, MotaWord has successfully transitioned into the Single Proofreader Model (SPM).

But what exactly is this Single Proofreader Model?

Working on projects with our translators, listening to their feedback and deriving from that information, we developed SPM so that all proofreading, editing, and validating of strings for a project will be assigned to a single proofreader (rather than the old way of assigning more than one proofreader to all projects).

This way, a single proofreader is able to bring together the work in a better way, grade the translations committed by translators better and ensure that the project is fully consistent when completed.

In our new SPM model, once the translation reaches 30% our Intelligent Project Manager (IPM) sends an invitation to proofreaders. Once a proofreader accepts the project, he or she receives an email detailing proofreader responsibilities as well as the source file in PDF form and any style guides provided by the client. The proofreader can then begin working on editing the strings already translated and those that are being translated while the proofreading is going on.

We are in the translation business and deadlines for project delivery is of course important. If our IPM sees that the proofreader is idle for a portion of the project completion time, it sends a ‘wake up’ email asking if the proofreader is encountering any issues. Within this email are quick choices that allows the proofreader to let us know that everything is OK - or alternatively, if an issue is encountered, have them contact directly the interested party within MotaWord; for a technical issue, IT will be notified, for project related issues the Account Manager will be notified or (in rare cases) should the proofreader need to cancel the project IPM would allow them to do that and re invite others to start the proofreading anew. As the proofreading assignment needs to begin a new, the cancelling party will of course not be compensated.

Our SPM is just another stepping stone in making our IPM technology better. We will be adding more features to the IPM as we gather more data. As you doubtlessly know by now, we gather Translator Quality Scores (TQS) on MotaWord. As in everything else, we believe that translators are not created equal and the good ones need to be praised. Those that are still learning need encouragement and more support. In providing this support, the proofreaders need to be compensated more in working on editing the work on translators in development. We will accomplish this through the integration of IPM and TQS.

The TQS also plays an important role in how we choose who becomes a proofreader on MotaWord.

Our IPM will also be able to send a Project Completion Report to all translators involved in a project, showing them their statistics but also the strings they worked on, and edits that were performed on their work. We believe this will be a good tool for our translators to better their craft and understand what kind of issues are encountered in a collaborative translation atmosphere.

It’s an understatement to say that we have a lot planned for MotaWord, but we’re excited for its future. Thanks for making it this far with us in our collaborative platform, and we’re excited to take this next step in growing the platform and rolling out SPM.