I know for certain — impossible is possible
Assessment
It seemed near impossible: The standard timeframe for such projects is 2-3 months or, at least, 1 month if we work overtime, and we had only 2 weeks to fulfill the order. The quality requirements were very strict. Consequently, translators for the project had to be proficient in that specific field. Furthermore, before the New Year, all the translators are usually busy working with previously assigned projects.
We realized that the project was quite a challenge. However, we did not turn it down; we did calculations, evaluated our possibilities, and decided that we would be able to make it. We spared no effort to put together a team of the translators we had worked with before (it was a long-standing customer, and we had accumulated extensive experience working with their projects). It took us several hours to split the project into 2 parts, assemble 2 teams of translators, editors and layout designers who had to work in parallel and synchronously. Within a short time, we prepared glossaries, reference and technical literature, established communication between the teams to save time spent on search for translation-related solutions. During daily morning and evening briefings, we exchanged information, distributed assignments and measured the progress not to miss the deadline.
Process
Of course, it was not plain sailing, beginning with local hitches when the team members ran into technical problems (for example, right before the delivery of the first part of the project, the computer of the chief editor who did the final verification of the text got burned down, together with the file the editor had verified and prepared for delivery) and culminating in the human factor, when some of the linguists overestimated their abilities, and we had to promptly redistribute the tasks to keep the pace of work.
Outcome
Everything turned out all right; we made it! It was not a miracle; rather, it was the result of the well-planned and intensive work during 2 weeks — we delivered the project on time (the first part was submitted ahead of schedule despite the burnt-out computer of the editor). We had no doubt about the quality of the translation, as we had an excellent team of translators and editors who had made every effort to do the job within the short time. On December 31, having our mind at peace and at ease, we left the office for the New Year holiday. The customer was very happy and grateful to us for helping him out of possible problems due to missing translated documentation.
