Simple Translation Workflow
Figure 1. Simplest Translation Workflow
A few steps appear in every workflow: Start, Finish, and Cancel. The Auto Error step appears in each workflow that contains an automatic action. The Auto Error step must have at least one assignee. The set of assignees must cover all the locales that you work with.
The first step in this workflow is the automatic action, Segment Asset, which performs these activities:
- Determines if the content in the segment is translatable.
- If it is translatable, breaks the asset into segments, if the asset has not already been segmented.
- Behind the scenes, and as part of the segmentation process, performs scoping to assess the translation effort. Scoping happens at the beginning of the project and is not updated unless the asset is resegmented.
- Applies the translation memory to the segments to find any existing TM matches.
The Segment Asset automatic action can return these values:
- If it returns Not translatable, the task goes directly to the Finish state.
- If it returns Translatable, the task goes to a Translate human step.
The Translate step is usually assigned to the workflow role, Translator. After the Translator completes the step, the task goes to the Finish state.
This workflow is so simple that you would not typically use it in a production environment. It lacks these important features:
- The workflow does not include an explicit Save to TM step. Thus, the Translator must have the permission to save to the TM and must remember to complete this step. If the Translator either doesn't have the correct permission or forgets to perform the step, the TM will not be updated with the new translations.
- The workflow does not have any review process built in. A review or edit could occur during the Translate step, but again, a human would have to remember to initiate the process. If the human forgets, then the translation can be submitted without a review.