Are we done? Communicate when a project ends

Do we really care about closing the projects we undertake?

Especially in localization projects, the end of a project is hardly communicated.

Sometimes it's a simple lack of communication, probably due to the fact that nobody asks for information in the whole production chain and all team members simply assume that delivering the chunk of work they felt responsible for is all they had to do.

Sometimes it is due to a highly fragmentized industry where a succession of responsibles, from client to tier1 vendor, to tier 2 vendor, ... makes difficult to have a real project manager accountable for project success, failure, or communication.

Too many projects are simply never ended properly.
Not all projects need a thorough analysis and postmortem.
Still, simply communicating that a project has ended can help.

Where is my piece of the cake?

More than ever before, the need for specialization is affecting the localization industry.
Analysis tends to show that the language industry is growing but still I have to say I see more and more small and medium companies suffering from reduced budgets on the side of their clients.

Still two kind of companies seem to be doing pretty well:
- Companies that clearly alleviate the internal work for Buyers. They offer a complete service package offering far more than linguistic services.
- Highly specialized companies. Companies that sell on a specific niche, no general translation. Specific needs or additional services to text localization that no one else on the market can offer.

Where your piece of the cake? If your marketing material and "specializations" list more than 2 unrelated industries, maybe it's time to reevaluate which cake you are really in.

LISA ASIA Forum - Localizing Interactive Media & Game

Sharing here the presentation at LISA Asia Forum performed at Suzhou, China on June 29th 2010.
Localization Industry Standards Association - lisa.org)

LISA ASIA Forum - Localizing Interactive Media & Game

View more presentations from Victor Alonso Lion.

Virtual delegation or collaboration beyond your eyesight

In this new world of cloud computing, virtual worlds and virtual teams working together to reach common goals, not only acquiring the technical skills for managing these new kind of projects is necessary.

Soft skills and specially the ability to delegate in such an environment is crucial too.
And it is important to acquire the skill of delegating to people that you actually do not see from your desk or could even never meet in person. If you are working from home, or part of your team is, it is important to realize that delegating to these team members is also possible.



Put in place and use any communication channel to make this possible and easy...chat, voip, whatever works for you. Create an atmosphere where "virtual delegation" is made possible.

Also realizing that delegating (or outsourcing) repetitive tasks or tasks that do not need your personal continuous decisions is easier than ever. Even if you are a freelance working alone? Yes, many sites offer the possibility to outsource these tasks. And you will find smart people that could do things for you while you are concentrating on adding value to your business or doing that little extra to be ahead of your competition.