Guided Tour
The online Demo for ]project-translation[
is available at http://pcdemo.dnsalias.com/.
Clicking on this link, you should see a page light the one at the
right, titled "]project-open[ Demo Server".
Below you find
the transcript of a "guided tour". Following this script, you will
gain a deeper understandanding of the translation specific functionality
of ]project-translation[.
Frank Bergmann says:
Hi Peter,
please go to http://pcdemo.dnsalias.com/.
I propose you to go
through the entire lifecycle of a project, from
acquisition to end...
Or what exactly are you interested in?
Potential Client says:
That sounds great, the lifecyle for acquisition
to the end to really see your "baby" in action
]project-open[ Demo Server
Email:
Password:
Demo Server Login
Login as 'System Administrator' (Administrator)
Login as 'General Manager' (Wheel)
Login as 'Project Manager' (PM)
Login as 'Staff Member' (Employee)
Login as 'Acc Aunting' (Accounting)
Login as 'Free Lance One' (Freelance)
Login as 'Client Contact' (Client)
Frank Bergmann says:
Perfect.
So let's asume that a client has called you, and
tells you that they possibly want to make a
project with you...
Potential Client says:
Lets call the client "ABC-Systems", and the new
project "ABC Translation", ok?
Frank Bergmann says:
Great:
So let's go to the Project tab.
Potential Client says:
I've clicked the Projects tag
Frank Bergmann says:
On the sub-navigation bar on the very right there
is a "blank" file icon, right of the "Costs" tab.
If you put the mouse above (without clicking!),
it says: "Add a new Project"
Potential Client says:
got ya
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, so please click the icon to create a new
project.
Frank Bergmann says:
Are you at the "New Project" page? Justmove to
the "Project Name" field and enter "ABC Translation
Project".
Then move to the "Client" field and select
"Internal". (This is a demo server, so only the
client "Internal" works).
Potential Client says:
gotcha
Potential Client says:
I will be "Staff Member" the start translator of
your company...
Frank Bergmann says:
No, don't! "Staff Members" have have very
restricted access to customers. It's better if
you select "Project Manager" or "General Manager".
Potential Client says:
Understood
Frank Bergmann says:
Just chose some arbitrary values for Source
Language, Target Language, Subject Area, Start and
End date.
Frank Bergmann says:
And then press "Create Project"
Potential Client says:
done
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, you should now be at the "Project" page.
Potential Client says:
correct
Potential Client says:
I have spelled the project name with lowercase
letters
Frank Bergmann says:
No problem, you can edit the values by pressing
the "Edit" button....
Frank Bergmann says:
But first let's add some team members.
There is an "Add member" link on the right hand
side. OK?
Potential Client says:
ok
Potential Client says:
Should I add an employee?
Frank Bergmann says:
Perfect, click the link. In this MemberAddPage
you can add members in a "Role". For example,
select "Free Lance One", and "add as" "Translator".
Then press the "Add" button.
Potential Client says:
Free Lance One, our star translator has been added.
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, I see it has worked out...
Frank Bergmann says:
I've run an "Anonymizer" with all names, project,
clients, etc...
Potential Client says:
I wondered... I thought or still think you are
very creative though too.
Frank Bergmann says:
...
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, now let's asume we have received a bunch of
files from the client by email.
So there are two options to store the files into
the project:
Frank Bergmann says:
1. If you are in the office (physically), you can
copy them locally using the "Windows Explorer" or
with Outlook "save attachments as".
That iss faster then uploading the files one-b-
one over the Internet. I'll do that now, just
copying some files from another project.
Frank Bergmann says:
2. You can upload them one-by-one over the Internet.
This is something you can do from everywhere.
Potential Client says:
Understood. Cool feature :-)
Frank Bergmann says:
Wait a second, I will now copy some files locally
(saving the files from an Outlook mail attachment).
Potential Client says:
Funny how these emoticons [ :-) ]have become so
accepted around the world, ne?
Frank Bergmann says:
Well, I guess it's "nerd culture"...
Potential Client says:
Well then, I guess we need more nerds in the world.
It a form or Revenge of the Nerds I guess
Or perhaps to express emotions without showing it
Frank Bergmann says:
I think one Bill Gates is sufficient...
Potential Client says:
Righto ... :-)
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, you'll need to do a "reload" of your Project
Page to see the new files at the very botton of
the page.
Potential Client says:
Hit the reload botton, and have seen the files
in the "source files" folder
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, just a sample.
Potential Client says:
Of course
Frank Bergmann says:
Now we are ready to import the Trados Log.
Unfortunately, this is a server, and there is no
Trados installed.
So I've copied you the corresponding trados
wordcount.csv
Potential Client says:
gotcha
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, I've copied a wordcount. I doesn't match the
files 100%, but you'll see the idea working.
Potential Client says:
Should I hit reload again?
Frank Bergmann says:
You can make a "reload" to see the wordcount file.
Just imaging someone runs Trados on the directory
(locally, in the office, from his Windows PC).
Frank Bergmann says:
To import the Trados log press the "Trados Import"
button from the "Task List" just above the file
tree. I pray it works....
Potential Client says:
Ok, I got a long list of files here.
Frank Bergmann says:
You can also add tasks manually.
This is necessary for non-Trados files (PDF, ...).
Potential Client says:
Did the program count the billable units
automatically?
Frank Bergmann says:
Yes, it uses a configurable "match matrix" to
calculate a weighted word cound: 100% count 30%,
95% matches count 50% and the rest counts 100%.
Also, you can change the "Billable Units" manually,
because the client somethims won't pay everything
you do...
Frank Bergmann says:
I've assigned the "Trans + Ed" Workflow to each
the files.
We could invent as many different workflows as
you need.
Potential Client says:
For example for the various forms of testing we
offered for ABC
Frank Bergmann says:
Right.
Ok, now we assign translators and editors to the
tasks.
Frank Bergmann says:
Press the "Assign" button.
Potential Client says:
okay, pressed "Assign"
Frank Bergmann says:
Now you can assign project members to the various
phases ... and press "Save Assignments"
Potential Client says:
Question: Who should do the Translation or Editing
tasks?
Frank Bergmann says:
How doy you mean? You are acting here as a project
manager. So you can assign anybody for any task.
It's up to you if that makes sense....
Potential Client says:
I clicked on assign an now back to the projects
page
Frank Bergmann says:
Perfect. The assignments determine who can upload
or download a file, depending on the "status" or
"phase" of each task.
A task automatically advances from "created" to
"translating", when the translator download the
file. It also advances from "translating" to "for
edit" when the translator uploads the result.
Potential Client says:
Really, thats great, so the PM can see at what
stage the project is
Frank Bergmann says:
Exactly.
Potential Client says:
Cool dude
Frank Bergmann says:
But you would have to log in as the respective
users to check how that works out...
Frank Bergmann says:
We can check that later.
Frank Bergmann says:
This is the way how I can determine if the
workflow advances: Controlling upload & download
of files.
We could add other "events" as well, for example
automatic uploads from clients if you need.
Frank Bergmann says:
Alternatively, privileged users (such as the PM)
may just manually change the status of each task....
Frank Bergmann says:
Did you see the "Message" on the right hand side?
Potential Client says:
Yes, I see the message. "File is ready to be
translated by another person"
Frank Bergmann says:
Exactly. Later we can log in as "Staff Member".
He will see "Please download the file", because
he's been assigned the translation job...
Frank Bergmann says:
Now: Let's assume BX has a question about project
terminology.
Potential Client says:
lets assume
Frank Bergmann says:
On the top right hand side of the page you can see
the "Forum" component.
Just post an new "Issue" by clicking on the
"Thunderstorm" icon (hold the mouse over the icons
to see the other types of discussion items).
Frank Bergmann says:
You can assign incidents to specific persons.
"Discussions" are not assigned to persons, they
just invite communication.
Potential Client says:
Okay, I created a new incident
Frank Bergmann says:
Well, now "Staff Member" should receive an Email
alert and may start to resolve the issue.
Then he marks the issue as "finished" which sends
out an Email to you (the owner) that the issue is
(suposebly) resolved.
Potential Client says:
Understood, and the issue can be assigned to teams
or person that should see the note
Frank Bergmann says:
Issues can be assigned only to a single person, but
the default "visibility scope" for all messages is
the Project, so everybody sees them.
Frank Bergmann says:
However, you can restrict visibility to staff
members only (employees), to client+staff or to
staff+freelancers, so that the clients don't see
nothing.
Freelancers are only allowed to post to staff.
This separates completely clients from freelancers.
Potential Client says:
A very important function!
Frank Bergmann says:
... well, yes...
Ok, that's the forum basicly. You can mark
messages as "Mark as read", so that it doesn't
appear on the project page anymore (however, it
will still appear on the "Forums" page (tab in the
main navigation bar)).
Potential Client says:
Saw that, great.
Frank Bergmann says:
You can select a whole bunch of messages with the
select boxes on the right and "deselect" them with
a single click.
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, now let's assume the project has been
translated/edited by our editors and delivered
successfully to the client.
The client may fetch the files over the Internet,
or we may just send them by mail ...
Potential Client says:
Are files sent via a link to the server for them
to download automatically?
Frank Bergmann says:
Well, the client will receive a notification that
the project has been "finished". This mail contains
a link to the project page, so that he can download
the content....
Potential Client says:
The mail with the link is really great feature I
think for downloading the content
Frank Bergmann says:
... this was the main reason to develop the system.
As a kind of "FTP"...
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, now we have to change the "project status" to
"delivered" to be able to write an invoice.
So, please press the "Edit" button in the "Project
Base Data" component and change the "Project Status"
to "delivered".
Frank Bergmann says:
Be careful! There is a difference between the
status of individual tasks (many) and the project
status (only one)...
Potential Client says:
Oh, understand. I have made the changes underneath
Project Base Data.
Frank Bergmann says:
Perfect.
Frank Bergmann says:
Now we go to the "Invoicing" tab at the main
navigation bar.
Potential Client says:
I'm there
Frank Bergmann says:
All prices and clients are ficticious....
(completely random).
Potential Client says:
of course
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, we can see that some invoices are over due,
because they are red...
Frank Bergmann says:
But first let's click on "New Invoice" on the sub-
navbar.
Potential Client says:
Done that, clicked on new invoice
Frank Bergmann says:
On this page you can see all "delivered" projects,
order by client.
You can select several projects (from the same
client!) to create cummulative invoices. That's an
important feature if you have many small projects..
Potential Client says:
And for us too- especially with clients in the
states who only pay by check!
Frank Bergmann says:
But we are going to select just a single project
"ABC Translations" with Customer "ABC".
Frank Bergmann says:
So click on the checkbox at the right of the
project and press "Select Projects for Invoice" at
the bottom.
Potential Client says:
Done
Frank Bergmann says:
Now you can (de-) select one or more "Tasks".
That's because sometimes you need to create
several invoices for the same project project...
And press "Create Invoice" at the bottom.
Potential Client says:
Done that
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, now we can see the draft invoice.
The invoice lines represent different types of
activities. So 10 files of "Trans + Edit" result
only in a single line...
You need to select a "Payment Method" and "Invoice
Template" and you can change the "Description"
and "Billable Items" of the invoice lines.
Frank Bergmann says:
Ssometimes you can't invoice everything you have
done...
Frank Bergmann says:
The price system in Translation is _very_ special.
Prices sometimes depend on the Quality (Trans,
Trans+Ed, Trans+Ed+Proof, ...).
Other clients pay depending on subject area and
target language...
So I have associated a price list for every
client based on all of these parameters: Source
Language, Target Language, Quality, Subject Area,
Unit of Measure, ...
Potential Client says:
I'm sure the list can be very complicated
Frank Bergmann says:
So what the invoice module does is to select the
best match for the invoice price based on the
parameters.
But I also show all the other combinations below
in the "Reference Prices" section, so that the
accountant can verify that the system has chosen
the right price.
Frank Bergmann says:
It's not an optimum solution, but translation
agencies sometimes have very different pricing
schemes, for example "CHF per source line" for
Swiss clients, "USD per source word", etc.
Potential Client says:
But I believe you have found a solid solution, it
is similar to what we have done with with our
internal application.
Frank Bergmann says:
I'm releaved. So it's not me who is complicated,
but the business model... :-)
Frank Bergmann says:
Perfect, so let's generate the invoice.
Potential Client says:
Okay, I hit the generate invoice and hit the
invoice page
Frank Bergmann says:
Now you can click on the "Preview" link to get an
idea....
Potential Client says:
Excellent!
Frank Bergmann says:
Ok, to print invoices you need to configure your
browser so that it doesn't print out header or
footer lines for each page.
Frank Bergmann says:
We can install you a free "PDF Printer" using
Linux, so that you just have to print the invoices
using the browser, and it will come up as PDF....
Potential Client says:
We have the same here as well. Our appliction
generates the PO, Invoice, Quote etc as PDF and
automatically attached to an email with standard
greeting
Frank Bergmann says:
Perfect.
Potential Client says:
Indeed, perfect
Frank Bergmann says:
Unfortunately, ]project-open[ can't generate PDF yet,
so that you have to send the PDF file manually. I
hope that will come in one of the next versions...
Frank Bergmann says:
We're nearly at the end of the guided tour.
What's missing is adding a payment for the
invoices (trivial) and checking the client page
to see how everything comes together...
Frank Bergmann says:
So let's have a look at the "RL Punnurloi
Vununjull" client.
Potential Client says:
Okay...
Frank Bergmann says:
... This client has several projects and invoices
attached.
What I want to show is how project and invoices are
presented from the client side.
Potential Client says:
Ah ha. So they can see a running balance of the
relationship.
Frank Bergmann says:
Yes, the page is visible both for clients and
in-house manager. You can check how much the client
ows you, and how much you've done from him.
Frank Bergmann says:
At the bottom of the page you can also see a more
detailed price list attached.
Potential Client says:
I noticed that.
Frank Bergmann says:
Well, we're about at the end of the guided tour...
Potential Client says:
I've enjoyed it a lot
Frank Bergmann says:
Well, I hope I will be able to show you the brand
new "Freelance Marketplace" module from Guillermo
the next time.
This module will allow to keep track of freelance
interaction (project + quality reviews), payments
and will help during the staffing of projects to
find a perfect match against their profiles.
Potential Client says:
So Guillermo is building the freelance module as
part of his Masters Thesis?
Frank Bergmann says:
Well, a "Freelance Marketplace", yes.
It allows you to invite freelancers to participate
in a project, based on their experience and their
quality reviews. The invited freelancers receive
an Email notification with a link to ]project-translation[,
and can edit online their availability
and their rates.
Potential Client says:
Similar to the Lion Portal?
Frank Bergmann says:
Well, sort of, but quite different. More designed
for many small projects, then for few big ones.
It's mainly to save the PMs the time to call around
and to take advantage of the quality reviews...
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