An LSP and TMS agnostic job notification and response system

LilianBNekipelo wrote:

Many serious translators do not answer the phone when they are working, because they would never have any work done. I think e-mails are really the best way to communicate with hard-working translators. It also sounds too mechanical, for the translation industry. It may be good for some other field.

[Edited at 2013-07-15 12:57 GMT]

John Fossey wrote:

I like the idea to be able to respond yes or no by merely clicking a link in the email. It is a bit annoying when you're in the middle of a job and an inquiry comes in which needs you to login somewhere - then you have to find the login credentials, deal with password typing mistakes or peculiar requirements (such as "It has been 90 days since you last changed your password - you must change it now before logging in", etc.).

>Yes, once you have a large enough random string in a URL (UUID) that it temporary anyway it is secure enough so passwords are not necessary. No system is ever 100% secure, password or no.

However, inviting agencies to send invitations via some translator's system is not likely to work, since each agency already has their own system of notifying translators. It would be difficult for an agency to have some translators that use a special system and others (most) who don't.

>Yes, many large LSP's do have these systems but they often use smaller LSP's as suppliers and these are on their own in that respect. Also, smaller Well one hour was an example, for a very urgent job it could be 5 minutes or lower. The main thing is to avoid the "The job was taken" annoyance.

The problem with capacity indicators is forgetting, in the heat of business, to keep it updated. Then you get the situation when the translator is busy but forgot (or didn't have time) to update various capacity widgets, which still show him available.

>I think this is the main problem. I have been looking at notification systems (and low-end prices) by signing up to a few LSP's at low rates as research and translating / MT post-editing small jobs. In my case, because it is research I just leave them on for all agencies I work for when I translate (because I want to see what comes through) but (big assumption) if the system were to become popular, large LSP's could connect to it via an API from whatever system they have in place. It would not be more than a week's work for a developer. It is not so bad at the moment, but as more and more LSP's have capacity notification functions in their portals (or elsewhere) it is going to become impossible for a translator to update each one each day. Most translators have a good handfull of clients they work for in a given month and a long tail or sporadic clients.

PM's and VM's who work regularly with certain translators can enforce discipline (and some do) but for translatoragency relationships that are sporadic this is not viable. I don't think it would never be a perfect system but the current state of affairs is very fragmented and likely to become more so.

As a developer it is always tempting to think in terms of "one system to rule them all" so I am conscious that it may not be possible to market the system to the point where it is useful enough for a translator to update. Specifically, if an update only informs one client LSP of capacity that is as bad as a system developed or purchased by that LSP. It only adds value if many LSP's for a single translator are willing to use it. On that note, maybe it should stay free like proz and charge for some extra value function later on.



[Edited at 2013-07-15 14:17 GMT]

John Moran wrote:
Here is the current problem as I see it:

1) A PM in an LSP receives a job. The lead time is short and the job is small. Rather than wait for e-mail responses, she rings a few translators on her list and on the third attempt finds a translator who has the capacity to take the job. This is inefficient.

2) Translators are signed up with many agencies and some agencies (e.g. translated.net, Lionbridge ) have software than makes it possible for a translator to proactively indicate capacity.

3) Agencies sometime send jobs out on e-mail lists. If translator A accepts a job, it is a waste of time for translator B to respond.

4) Some translation management systems (XTM, XTRF) provide notification systems to automate this process but it requires that the agency in question pay for the whole platform which may not be suitable for their needs.

Here is the germ of the system I am considering developing:

1) A translator sets up an account on the web application, lets call it www.translator-notify.net. The only information entered is the translators e-mail address. The translator may then invite some agencies to send jobs via this system. Another signup method would be an invite from an agency. The signup process would be very quick as only an e-mail would be required from the translator in a web page. No password is necessary.

2) The LSP notifies a translators by uploading the files for translation (or a sample or no files) and a due date + wordcount. Word price details etc. would be optional as it has probably been negotiated in advance. This would be done using a bookmark-able web page which only the LSP can access. The agency also selects an ordered list of translators. Note, the system cannot be used to search for suitable translators. It is invite only.

3) The translator receives a mail with a link to to accept and a link to reject the job if he has indicated that he has capacity. If available the notification e-mail will contain one or more documents for translation. It would also indicate a response time that the translator and the agency have agreed is reasonable (e.g one hour). If no response is forthcoming from translator1, translator 2 receives the mail and so on to the end of the list. However, if translator1 responds after a notification has gone to translator3 an immediate e-mail is sent to inform translator3 that the job was taken. This would reduce the "job is already taken" annoyance when LSP's bulk e-mail jobs to many translators.

From a translator perspective, it means that jobs could be accepted or rejected while out shopping from a smartphone (without requiring an app).

I am thinking the system would be free for translators and a couple of Euros per month for LSP's. A translator could indicate availability from some agencies (who pay better) and indicate limited or no availability for others.

The system would not allow one agency to see who competitor agencies translators are and no C.V. or other details (e.g price) would be stored on the system.

The idea is to have something translator-centric and information poor. I guess one downside to this is that calls or emails from PM's is one of the few outside social contacts that freelance translators have these days but I think there are still many cases where translators can still speak to PM's to discuss a project and there is nothing preventing a PM from calling a translator to say thanks for a job well done.

LSP's would also be able to access the system via an API to further automate their processes (e.g. link to accounting and PM systems).

I am open to ideas and criticism!

John Moran wrote:
Thanks Nicole. I appreciate the humour.

Just to clarify- I am not suggesting it can be translated on the phone

- just accepted or refused having had a quick look at a sample file or a file for translation. If an e-mail comes in on my smartphone it is almost always possible for me to read it by clicking on the attachment (iPhone and Android). It rarely requires more than a cursory look on my part before I accept or reject a job.

I normally just type a short response when I am out but clicking on a link in the mail would be fractionally easier for both parties.

I like the idea of the "not available now but available in x days" reply. That could be a feature for less urgent jobs.

I think you are underestimating the problems caused by small translation jobs for agencies that work with freelancers. Even the world's largest agencies are under pressure from some of the biggest translation buyers to scrap minimum fees so the time it takes for a PM to handoff a job is becoming critical for smaller agency suppliers in this supply chain. Essentially, the game is to have enough profitable large jobs to compensate for the loss-making small ones.

Even for smaller agencies that advertise locally or using adwords it is an issue. Have you ever seen an ad for a local agency that said "Big jobs only please"? Charging a high minimum fee can help here but you may scare off a client that has future need for a large job.

Client profiles vary from translator to translator and I am guessing from your tone that you are happy with your status-quo. For translators with direct clients or agencies that are lucky enough not to have to deal with micro-jobs this would not be much use.

For many LSP owners I have met their business is indeed "precious" to them.

Could you give me examples of the good systems? I know a few bad ones myself.