Kelly Lawetz, Director of Unified Content Services (UCS) at Genetec, is passionate about localization.
Publishing software, documentation, enterprise, and training content in 28 languages, she sees localization as a driver for international growth. With the help of WhP, she is on a journey to raise her organization’s localization maturity.
Reaching out to markets overseas at Genetec
Genetec Inc is a world-leading provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions. With localized software and technical documentation, they can expand into new markets and increase their global market share.
Content is the cornerstone of Genetec’s user experience
With an increased presence in global markets, UCS realizes that the translation quality of technical content is a key differentiator. As the business moves toward a self-service model, customers need content that speaks to them and is of the highest quality. Localized content is essential for customer onboarding and support, so it must be impactful and flawless.
“When I started thirteen years ago, Kelly explains, translation wasn’t findable or usable. The quality wasn’t the best”. In 2020 the organization reached out to WhP for a Masterplan. Its goal: optimize its global content management processes. WhP identified that while its DITA content management was mature, its localization processes were not there yet.
The Masterplan led to WhP carrying out a Proof of Concept (POC) to align Genetec’s DITA-based documentation with its software strings. WhP proposed a process that automated synching of the user interface in every language. The process will be implemented after the new CCMS is fully operational.
Implementing a sound localization quality management program
Quality assurance was WhP’s next major project with Genetec. “We are efficient in translation delivery and cost. Validating its quality is more complex, as it involves multiple factors such as people and collaboration,” Kelly explains. WhP guided them to optimize localization instructions, bug tracking, workflows, project templates, XTM management, and query management.
Root cause analysis was a significant achievement for Kelly and her translation team lead, Chris Tsiang. “Once you can label, group and categorize, you can identify what is wrong and direct your continuous improvements.” More bugs are being reported as a result. The team is also getting more feedback from users and collaborators. “With product teams that are closer to their regional and international customers, quality translation of tech docs is important. They are reporting more bugs in the localized content than before,” Kelly says.
Through implementing the process improvements and working with WhP’s experts, Kelly’s team has the language and structure to look at bugs and decide what they are.
Kelly expects to see the number of internal bugs decrease now that they have better tagging, project templates, and query management. It will be easier for them to identify the issues caused by language service providers and language-related problems.
Seamless integration is the goal for 2025
Working alongside the WhP team and applying their recommendations, Genetec has stepped up its localization practices in several areas: QA control, XTM templates and workflows, query management, style guide, translation memory, and term base management.
As Genetec continues its migration to Ixiasoft’s CCMS, Kelly’s objective for 2023 is to automate all translation packaging. With an average of 450 projects per quarter, her team will have more time to optimize processes and quality.
Optimizing localization is a step-by-step process encompassing processes, tools, and people. It also breaks silos and brings in new stakeholders. Applying WhP’s Masterplan recommendations enabled Genetec to manage the change and adopt best practices aligned with the organization’s business objectives. Thus, Genetec has the tools and language to support its product and content-led international growth.
