Design, translation and DTP of user guides

APT continues to help a leading Mobile Terminals Company by designing, translating and desktop publishing its user guides.

Being fiercely competitive, the mobile phone market changes in such a dynamic way that providing localisation services to this sector requires a large amount of specialist knowledge.

This mobile phone development and manufacturing company faced a huge headache when producing its user guides and related material for its global market.

We offered to take the burden of this challenge off their hands by producing easy-to-read material with many illustrations for 28 countries. Quality processes, including page proofreading, had to be guaranteed within the workflow, and would form part of the external audit prior to the project of translating 3 User Guides.

The project timescale was 12 weeks, with the products due to be despatched well before the Christmas market.

The pressure was on!

Brief

Design and create User Guides for a technologically advanced range of 3G handsets not only suitable for a global market, but capable of sophisticated localisation memory integration
Translate all three User Guides into 28 languages our using in-house desktop publishing resources within 6 weeks
Guarantee quality and consistency
Translate the User Interface messages into 28 languages
Adapt an online version control system
Design QSG (Quick Start Guide) and Accessories literature
Translate QSG and Accessories literature into 24 languages

Solution

Roadmap produced
Team of authors and illustrators assembled to work onsite in conjunction with software engineers
Team of project managers assembled working with an online portal, sharing up-to-the- minute information from the lead author, enabling accurate version control
A team of in-house Desktop Publishing specialists assigned to the project
QA process including in-house page proofreading teams guaranteeing quality and consistency, achieving quality assurance throughout the project
Purpose-built “string manager” created to facilitate quick and easy localisation of User Interface messages, ensuring swift integration with the appropriate language User Guide
Online management of review process with the client’s in-country approval teams, ensuring an accurate amendment process, and consistent updating of translation memories
Regular checking of draft User Guide copy with the client’s designated printers, ensuring that no last-minute amendments would be needed
Weekly web conference meetings

Result

English User Guides, QSG and Accessories literature approved within 6 weeks
Localised versions created and approved within 6 weeks
Accurate review process completed
User Guides, QSG and Accessories literature sent to the printers on time

Next Phase

Monitoring of terminology management alongside new product development
New product User Guide translation and localisation

Clients >

Document Trans.

DTP

Terminology Mgmt.