Biosense Webster / Innovating a Collaborative
Translation Quality Program
A Net-Translators Case Study
HIGHLIGHTS
› Innovative collaboration between a medical device manufacturer and a language service
provider (LSP)
› New, start-to-finish localization workflow blends in-house, LSP, and in-country review
(ICR) teams into one seamless project stream resulting in lowered cost, less overhead and
reduced time-to-market
› Significant process improvements achieve initial deliverables of higher quality and
dramatically reduce the client effort required to meet quality benchmarks
› ICR resources professionalized into an efficient, cohesive team
› Position and responsibilities of localization project management formalized
In the world of translation and localization,
the life sciences sector is different from other
industries: regulations are changing on a
continual basis and a premium is placed on
accuracy above all else. For medical device
manufacturer Biosense Webster (Israel), delivering high-quality localized documentation
was crucial, yet challenging. The localization
workflow that had evolved over time to ensure
high quality was maintained across multiple
languages required considerably more in-house
resources and time than should be necessary.
What began as the selection of a new translation services provider, Net-Translators, quickly
evolved into a highly productive, symbiotic
partnership. Together, the companies innovated
an entirely new and significantly more streamlined localization workflow around the resources
and expertise of both companies. Today,
Biosense Webster’s localization projects run
more efficiently and stay on budget and
deadline, while consistently delivering highquality, multilingual documentation with
much less burden to in-house resources.
www.net-translators.com
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
BIOSENSE WEBSTER PROFILE
For over a decade, Biosense Webster had
translated medical device documentation to
accompany their EP navigation and mapping
products into worldwide distribution. Despite
working with various translation vendors and
trying different workflows and approaches,
achieving consistently high-quality results
across languages required extensive in-house
support. A newly hired, experienced localization manager was able to pinpoint a number
of problem areas in the company’s translation
workflow, their use of ICR resources, the way
they collaborated with their LSP and managed
translation projects:
› Members of the ICR and translation teams
were not always clear on proper communication channels. There was no single point
of contact, coordination, or responsibility
for resolving their questions or trafficking
ICR feedback between teams, putting deadlines at risk.
› Inconsistent translation quality
› Price-quality-TAT correlation in the product
delivered by LSPs, requiring Biosense
Webster put in more work
› The need to write the work instructions for
LSP translators and DTP staff.
Biosense Webster is recognized worldwide as
a leader in the science behind the diagnosis
and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Since
pioneering electrophysiology (EP) diagnostic
catheters more than 30 years ago, the
company’s continuous pursuit of practical
innovation has led to a steady flow of breakthrough designs.
Today, Biosense Webster drives the industry
as an innovator of advanced diagnostic,
therapeutic, and mapping tools. As the
leader in EP navigation, the company has the
largest installed base of navigation systems
worldwide in leading hospitals and teaching
institutions. These tools give electrophysiologists access to 3-D, real-time, color-coded
views of the heart’s electrical activity, allowing
diagnosis and treatment with increasing precision. Ongoing collaboration with leaders in
related industries pushes clinical boundaries
still further, producing new technologies such
as remote magnetic navigation and intracardiac echocardiography. For more information,
visit www.biosensewebster.com.
A Net-Translators Case Study
Biosense Webster: Innovating a Collaborative Translation Quality Program
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
“ Net-Translators worked
in concert with our inhouse quality management in such a manner
that you didn’t know
where one left off and
the other began. It really
gave me the peace of
mind that they care as
much about quality as
we — a medical device
manufacturer — do.
Besides the good quality
and great attitude, they
don’t just listen, they
actually hear you. ”
Alex Lik, Localization Manager,
Biosense Webster Israel
Even with key workflow issues identified, the
complexities and interrelationships of these
problems and the number of different teams
involved made it inefficient to resolve them
one at a time. Biosense Webster began by
selecting a new translation vendor.
New LSP selected
At the end of an extensive selection process,
LSP Net-Translators was chosen, in large part,
because their focus on standard localization
processes, structured approach to quality, and
expertise in medical-device localization resonated with Biosense Webster’s needs, challenges,
and quality expectations. Net-Translators
quickly became more of a partner, collaborating
with Biosense Webster to innovate unique
solutions to the translation inefficiency problems they were experiencing.
Net-Translators diverse experience working
with many companies in the medical-device
and other industries brought an infusion of
new ideas and proven techniques for resolving
workflow inefficiencies and trimming cost
without sacrificing quality. Their worldwide
footprint includes availability in every time
zone, a bonus when the project team is spread
around the world. And although Net-Translators
obtained ISO 13485 certification after the formal
vendor selection process was complete, it
served to validate Biosense Webster’s choice of
Net-Translators as it effectively integrated both
quality systems in use at Biosense Webster.
ICR formalized and professionalized by
Biosense Webster
Next, Biosense Webster began to make
changes to the way their ICR program was
managed, staffed, and run.
› ICR is now a formal job responsibility
Biosense Webster’s ICR resources are
in-country employees spread around the
globe. Previously, the task of ICR was not
typically part of their job description, it was
performed on top of existing job duties
making turnaround and, thus, meeting
localization deadlines, inherently unpredictable. ICR is now formally incorporated into
each reviewer’s job description, increasing
predictability and reducing project management efforts needed to schedule ICR
resources and revise project schedules.
› Reviewers are pre-screened and trained
Going forward, it was important to ensure
that both existing reviewers and those hired
in the future were qualified for this task,
specifically for translation review. To ensure
every reviewer has the needed language
background, regulatory knowledge, interpersonal skills, and availability, Biosense
Webster worked together with Net-Translators
to develop a recommended skills checklist
for ICR resources. The list is now used by
Biosense Webster when interviewing for
positions that include ICR. Biosense Webster
also developed a formal training program
which is now required for all ICR resources.
› New ICR operational guidelines and tools
Biosense Webster’s operational ICR instructions consisted of a two-page guideline,
leaving reviewers with considerable leeway
to interpret what was needed and expected
during ICR. Consequently, feedback was at
times inconsistent and not always useful.
In addition, reviewers used the available
tools of their choice to review translations
and provide feedback; no standard tools
were required. The result was feedback in
disparate formats and styles ranging from
highly detailed and valuable to unfocused
comments. For feedback recipients, coordinating and triaging this feedback was
tedious and highly inefficient.
A new, more comprehensive set of operational ICR guidelines was developed to
make the ICR task as clear, consistent, and
efficient as possible for both reviewers and
project management. The guidelines formalized the definition of what is sent for ICR
and when, the role of the reviewer and
scope of their task, the tools to be used, and
methodologies for markup, reporting,
approvals, file exchange, and more. Familiarity
with a new set of procedures required a
little time investment upfront, but ultimately
streamlined the jobs of everyone.
Through these changes, the task of ICR at
Biosense Webster was essentially professionalized: ICR is part of each reviewer’s job, reviewers
now have a clear scope, the necessary skill set,
consistent tools, and comprehensive, uniform
operational guidelines. Today, ICR teams,
management of ICR resources and handling
ICR feedback are measurably more efficient
and predictable. ICR team members are also
more motivated and more accountable for
the quality of the feedback they provide.
Localization project management formalized
Until the recent hiring of a full-time localization
manager, Biosense Webster had no single
point-of-contact for documentation localization
projects. The job of managing and scheduling
the ICR team, coordinating the timing and flow
of feedback and information between ICR,
content owners, and the translation vendor,
and resolving miscommunications that arose
between these various teams was not a centralized task or dedicated to one person.
For the various staff (who had other job responsibilities) tasked to oversee ICR during an active
localization project, managing a group of over
70 reviewers scattered throughout the world
was tedious and time consuming. It also made
it hard for management to get clear, reliable
localization project status or troubleshoot
accountability when deadline issues arose.
are now involved earlier in the initial review
and approvals of project terminology. Their
sign-off is required before the project moves
forward, helping to establish a solid, accurate baseline of terms early before they are
used by translators. These changes eliminated
many cycles of ICR that were necessary and
common in the old workflow.
Localization project management was formalized into a professional position requiring
localization experience. This position acts as an
internal project manager, providing a single,
clear point of contact and responsibility for
both management and other internal groups.
It also takes point on communication and
project traffic with ICR and LSP teams, including
managing feedback: filtering out irrelevant
comments, resolving non-linguistic issues, and
shepherding priority issues to the appropriate
teams for resolution.
› Ongoing QA & quality metrics in place
Net-Translators uses an adaptive QA model
developed in-house and based upon
industry-standard metrics. The model allows
each client to set baseline and thresholds
required for their industry and/or standards.
It was adapted to Biosense Webster’s workflow and quality expectations; metrics
collected are used to monitor and refine
quality on an ongoing basis, track trends
that help to maximize cost efficiencies, and
drive future process refinements. Today,
Biosense Webster has considerably more
visibility into the inner workings of the
entire localization workflow and is able to
make ongoing refinements to the localization process, tools, and resources to meet
challenges as they arise.
Workflow streamlined
With a new quality-focused LSP in place, a
trained, professionalized ICR team deployed,
and a localization project manager at the
helm, it now became possible to optimize a
more efficient, more streamlined project workflow that seamlessly integrates members from
client and LSP teams. Some tasks formerly
handled by Biosense Webster could now be
offloaded to Net-Translators, raising efficiency
even further. Overall, fewer steps and fewer
cycles are now required to achieve high-quality
results more predictably, with huge cost
efficiencies, and with the same or tighter
deadlines. Notable workflow changes include:
› Handling glossary & termbase updates
Today, before translation begins,
Net-Translators drives creation of the glossary and update of the termbase with new
terminology for each project, offloading
the Biosense Webster project manager of
this task. On the client side, the ICR resources
› Translation QA streamlined
The translation QA process was also streamlined. Team members on both client and
LSP sides were integrated into a single,
more efficient project stream, erasing the
traditional boundaries between in-house
and outsourced LSP teams.
› Web portal simplifies project administration
Net-Translators provides a secure web portal
for project procurement and communications
for all clients. The portal has helped Biosense
Webster simplify project administration and
reduce the time required for procurement
and monitoring.
A Net-Translators Case Study
Biosense Webster: Innovating a Collaborative Translation Quality Program
In the new, streamlined workflow, each team
member knows their role, the timelines, and
the deliverables, and has guidelines, tools, and
open communications channels they need to
work efficiently with their peers on both teams.
To Biosense Webster, Net-Translators “feels” like
their in-house language services unit. Today, a
typical translation project requires only one ICR
pass and achieves better translation acceptance.
On the surface, this is not a story of innovation.
Net-Translators has helped many companies
tailor highly efficient localization workflows to
meet the strategic goals of high quality, reduced
time to market, and exceptional customer
satisfaction. With the help of a quality-focused,
collaboration-minded LSP, any company can
affect these kinds of changes to their localization workflow and impacts to their bottom line.
RESULTS
ABOUT NET-TRANSLATORS
In Net-Translators, Biosense Webster found a
partner who faces the rigorous localizationquality and accuracy demands of the medical
device industry as if they were their own and
who cares as much about quality as they do.
Unlike many translation companies, where the
process of localization operates start-to-finish
like a “black box,” Net-Translators helped
Biosense Webster innovate a symbiotic localization workflow and gave them more visibility
into and control over the general process of
translation management. Today, Biosense
Webster produces high-quality localized documentation in all languages with significantly
higher operational efficiencies, reduced
in-house effort, consistently met deadlines,
and reduced time-to-market and costs.
Net-Translators is a leading provider of translation, localization, and multilingual testing
services in more than 60 languages. For over
a decade, they have helped medical device
manufacturers, software developers, and
hardware companies prepare their products
and services for worldwide deployment. ISO
13485:2003 quality management systems for
medical devices certification guarantees that
services are performed in compliance with the
exceptionally rigid requirements set by this
international quality standard. ISO 9001:2008
quality management systems certification
also ensures compliance with quality management systems in procedures not specific to
medical applications. Compliance with the EN
15038:2006 quality standard, a growing requirement for companies throughout Europe,
demonstrates a commitment to providing
translation services of the highest quality and
gives prospective clients a reliable and easy
way to assess service quality.
Net-Translators has earned the trust of market
leaders in every industry they serve. They have
an extraordinarily high percentage of repeat
customers representing a wide range of
companies including GE Healthcare, NetApp,
and others. Net-Translators works together
with each company to tailor a complete solution that includes the planning, services, and
guidance each client needs to shepherd their
products from source language readiness
through worldwide launch.
Net-Translators’ one-of-a-kind Multilingual QA
Center offers multilingual testing in over 30
languages under one roof. This state-of-theart facility houses a flexible IT environment
built for testing support and a highly collaborative QA team that includes professional
testers and QA managers, developers, designers, linguists, and webmasters, all working
together to solve problems across languages.
For more information, visit
www.net-translators.com
Biosense Webster is a trademark of Biosense Webster, Inc.
www.net-translators.com
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