Translation Quality Assurance with ErrorSpy
ErrorSpy, the quality assurance software for translations
- Extensive configurable checks
- Own editor with many useful functions
- Support for many formats such as XLIFF, TBX, Multiterm, and many more.
ErrorSpy for post editing
Quality assurance with ErrorSpy
Trust is good, control is better! This saying is especially true for translations. Because many things can go wrong when translating: The author has used abbreviations or terms that are difficult to understand without background knowledge. The translator does not stick to the given terminology. Errors have crept in when translating figures. Or the processes are such that the translation is a mixture of past translations and newly translated segments. The result is then inconsistent both in style and terminology.
A systematic quality control is therefore essential. About 20 years ago, we were faced with the situation that the aspects to be checked were so diverse and none of the tools available on the market at that time offered any support. So we decided to develop ErrorSpy in 2003. At the time, this was the first commercially available quality assurance software for translations.
Translation into all languages
We translate into all languages
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Automatic error reporting and translation evaluation
Individually configurable tests
Extensive testing of many aspects of the translation
Over the past 20 years, we have continuously worked on improving ErrorSpy and implemented many useful features that we need for our daily projects. Meanwhile, there are of course several tools or modules of translation memory systems that offer functions like a terminology check or a number check. But ErrorSpy offers a high number of individual configuration options that can make a big difference in certain situations.
An example: The testing of physical quantities based on SI units. SI units are units based on the International System of Quantities (ISQ). It may happen that measurements are calculated or formulated differently in the translation. The translator has turned 1000 mm into 1 m or one inch into 2.54 cm. If configured appropriately, these values are made comparable between the source and target languages and any errors are reported. For example, 10 mm and 1 cm are normalized to 0.01 m and compared.
Quality assurance for all language combinations
The main checks of ErrorSpy are:
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Terminology check |
Use of the given terminology. ErrorSpy checks terminology with linguistic knowledge, i.e. it can detect inflections and plurals or even insertions during terminology checking. |
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Terminology check of the source language
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Reverse check. Did the author use the source term that matches the translated term?
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Consistency check |
Uniform translation of the same segments.
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Partial consistency check
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Similar, but taking into account minor deviations in the segment (e.g., a word variance). |
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Number check |
Numbers and number format
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Completeness check |
Check if all words in the segment have been translated. |
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Tag check |
Have tags been deleted or corrupted? |
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XML validation |
Is the structure of the translated XML file XML-compliant? |
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Acronym check |
Do the acronyms in both languages match?
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Typographic check |
Are the typographic characters correct and country-compliant? For example, are Asian punctuation marks taken into account? |
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Custom checks |
You can define your own checks using regular expressions. |
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Spell check |
You can add your own words to existing dictionaries. |
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Context check |
Is the translation correct in a given context (knowledge module of LookUp required)? |
Quality standard
How ErrorSpy is used in practice at D.O.G. GmbH
We use ErrorSpy systematically on all projects. As a rule, the regular mandatory checks are performed: Completeness, numbers, terminology, consistency, spelling and some more.
For all customers we have defined a default configuration, so you can assume that your translations will always be checked in the same way.
For special projects there are individual checks and configurations that take into account the specific requirements of our customers
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The revisers go through the list of reported errors and decide whether they are genuine errors. The translators receive the list of corrections or errors to be revised with a request for feedback.
On the basis of the check results, a assessment of the translation is made in our project management system. This way, we ensure that we only use translators who deliver the desired quality.
If you would like to learn more about ErrorSpy, visit our product page.
Support for the revisers
Can be integrated into your processes
Advantages of automation
The automatic checks by ErrorSpy are done in a few seconds. The reviser receives a list of all possible errors. This is an enormous advantage when dealing with extensive documentation and terminology databases. How much time would a reviser otherwise need to check consistent adherence to a terminology of 3000 terms on 200 pages?
In addition to the pure time advantage, there is also the process reliability. No potential error is overlooked. Our revisers work with templates with mandatory checks so that all translation projects in a given category are checked in the same way, regardless of who is doing the checking.
Terminology sources
ErrorSpy recognizes the following data formats as terminology sources:
- Excel and CSV, MS-Access
- Trados MultiTerm
- MySQL
- TBX
- The terminology management system LookUp
Of course, in most cases we use the terminology from LookUp, our terminology management system to which our customers have access. This is where the interaction with ErrorSpy is optimal. The integration of the two tools makes it possible to enter new terms directly from ErrorSpy into LookUp, or to update existing terminology
during the quality check.
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FAQ
These questions are often asked
ErrorSpy is an intelligent quality assurance software for translations. ErrorSpy automatically checks translations for a variety of quality features. Based on objective and freely configurable criteria, ErrorSpy simultaneously generates an evaluation of the translation as well as a list of errors. The effort required to correct translations and the associated costs can thus be reduced by up to 50%. Another advantage is that it gives reviewers more time to check the content and detect any errors in meaning.
The standard checks already have a lot of configuration options that go into great detail. In addition, individual checks can also be defined via regular expressions. For example, to verify that the currency sign is after and not before a number, or that product names and words are not joined with a hyphen. A list of common expressions is included in the default configuration of ErrorSpy.
The error report and the evaluation report are two important reports that ErrorSpy can generate automatically. When certifying a company to a quality management standard (e.g. ISO DIN EN 17100), they are important evidence of the QA process. You can weight each error category and ErrorSpy adds up the weighted points for the confirmed errors. From this, ErrorSpy calculates a score for the translation. Since the scoring method, which is based on the SAE J2450 standard, is always the same, the scores are reproducible. For fully automated processes, the reported errors are taken into account for each category.
Do you want to streamline your quality assurance process with ErrorSpy?
We can discuss how best to deploy and configure ErrorSpy in your working environment. If you want to automate and consolidate processes, we can also discuss integration options for Errorspy.
