Planning for and scheduling in-country review cycles at the start of a localization project can help avoid timely delays once the project is underway.

The first point of discussion between customers and localization vendors should be to determine whether a glossary is being created and if it will be reviewed before the start of translation. Reviewing the glossary and providing feedback during this stage of the project helps establish a foundation for all subsequent terminology and potentially minimize the number of changes later in the project.

A second point of discussion should be to discuss the process for reviews, including how review comments should be returned to the localization vendor and what types of comments are included in the project budget (and which are not). It is also helpful to determine whether time should be set aside for the linguist and reviewer to discuss the changes and answer any questions. To make the process as straightforward as possible, the in-country reviewer should clearly mark what term should be changed, what the term should be changed to and whether the change is a one-time only change or whether the change should be applied globally throughout the materials.

Finally, it is critical to establish a timeline for the review. Although the duration will depend on the in-country reviewer’s schedule, most reviews are scheduled for five business days in order to complete the project as soon as possible. (In some cases, if materials are not very extensive, a shorter duration may be more appropriate. Or, if the materials are quite extensive, more than five business days may be needed. This can be determined on a project-by-project basis.)