The new Executive Committee, which is comprised of Supervisory and Advisory branches, is designed to reflect greater market and technical awareness, as well as to facilitate a more effective decision making process.

The decision making body is the Supervisory committee, which is comprised of two members plus the director. John Egan, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing Trados Corp., is primarily responsible for financial and administration issues; while Jaap van der Meer, President of Alpnet, is chiefly responsible for the association's strategic direction. Together, with the director, the supervisory committee budgets and plans the association's annual activities in line with an agreed business strategy. They review the LISA administrative reports, the Auditor's annual report, as well as the business and tactical plans submitted by the director and the advisory committee members.

The Advisory Committee provides the means for the association to focus on special interests and industry initiatives. With the administration's assistance, and through the support of members, they are chiefly responsible for implementing specific platforms and achieving results through SIGs and other industry-wide programs.

There are ten Advisory Executive Committee positions. Each advisor is responsible for member-driven platforms under categories like Forums and Third-Party Content Partnerships, Education, Industry Standards, Terminology Initiatives, Market Research, Project Management, Language Technology Benchmarking, SME Solutions, and Internationalization Training. Any professional may join the special interest groups led by the Advisory Committee members and add their experience and energy to help take LISA forward.

The platforms of the new Advisory Committee members are printed here. In addition, advisory members' "roadmaps" (high-level plans) for meeting their platform objectives are listed below for those advisory members who have submitted them.

Please note that infomation on two of the new advisory board members, Jordan Woods and Alan K. Melby, is presented in a separate article.

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FORUMS AND PROGRAM CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS

E. Smith Yewell
President and CEO
welocalize.com
(smith.yewell@welocalize.com)

Platform

LISA's priority is to get new businesses to join the association. By increasing our membership base we will be able to generate more new ideas, increase industry awareness, and develop policies that will benefit the entire membership.

The mission of this advisory is to position LISA as the leading voice for our industry.

We can do this in several ways:

• The Content Partner Program: Providing LISA-branded globalization content to other associations and conference organizations via their web sites, forums and other communication mediums so that their constituencies are kept well-informed about Globalization issues
• Increasing the frequency and variety of LISA events. These can be in conjunction with other associations and conferences, whereby LISA adds value by providing localization and globalization content
• Change the LISA Forum structure to accommodate more forums during the year with more focused content in each forum.

Roadmap

The promise of the new LISA is very exciting and I believe there will be many new benefits for LISA members. I plan to help further the new LISA's goals through the LISA Content Partner Program.

I feel that the Globalization industry is poised for a breakthrough into mainstream awareness, and I believe it will take our commitment and support of the new LISA to enable LISA to be the recognized authority and voice for our industry as a whole.

The LISA Content Partner Program

The LISA Content Partner Program is an excellent way to increase the awareness of the LISA, increase understanding of Globalization topics, promote the Globalization industry and create new opportunities for LISA members.We have several LISA Content Partners currently, but our goal is to reach 10 Content Partners by the end of 2001. We will achieve this goal by actively pursuing industry associations, conference organizers and government agencies. LISA has retained Brandon & Associates, based in Washington, DC, to assist us in this effort.

Content Partner Program packages will consist of both written and presentation-based Globalization content. LISA members will have the opportunity to develop co-branded Globalization content with LISA and present that content during Content Partner Program opportunities.

Content Partner Programs will also include specially priced sponsorship and exhibit packages for LISA members.

LISA Content Partners will benefit by providing their constituents with valuable and professionally presented Globalization content.

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MARKET RESEARCH AND INDUSTRY SURVEYS

Don DePalma
VP Corprate Strategy
IDIOM Inc.
(don@idiominc.com)

Charter

Create a research community and resource to support the new mission of LISA, provide research resources for the LISA membership, and raise awareness in the general technology, investment, and business arenas.

Scope

Industry, business, governmental, non-governmental agency (NGO), and investment firm research on the topics of internationalization, translation, localization, and globalization as they intersect with physical business and the Internet. For the sake of brevity in this document, "globalization" will be used henceforth to incorporate all of the "-ion" terms.

Mission

The mission of the Research SIG is to focus research attention on the globalization industry. The SIG will foster the notion that globalization is a business-critical topic that deserves to be covered on its own merits rather than as a subtopic of other business and technology issues.

Roadmap

• Create a directory of analysts covering the space as a resource for LISA members to reference and for the press to contact as needed.
• Create a community for these analysts. This will mean providing a means of regular communication (e.g., bulletin board, chat); a place to post information for or requests for information to the LISA membership (e.g., a call for early adopters of a technology or companies with a particular business problem); periodic caucus of interested analysts at LISA and other industry events; and other outreach and community-building activities as needed.
• Provide a directory research covering globalization, business issues, and the digital economy, with either that research local to the LISA site or with pointers to those research sites.
• Foreground for the general LISA membership the intersection of globalization issues with market-setting analyst concepts like IDC's research on eMarketplaces, Gartner's Global Class Computing, or Forrester's Voyage.
• Empanel a trio of analysts for LISA events to discuss issues of interest to the membership.

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WEB GLOBALIZATION STANDARDS

Jorden Woods (see "OSCAR Expands")

COMPONENT INTERFACES (OSCAR, Open Tag and other localization and globalization standards)

Dr. Alan K. Melby (see "OSCAR Expands")

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Maarten Milder
Director
Project Management Practices
Bowne Global Solutions
(maarten.milder@bowneglobal.de)

Platform

The Localization industry lacks formal certification for Project Managers. In many cases, localization professionals are appointed to Project Management positions without having concluded a formal training program and without having been certified as a Project Manager. With Localization being a project-driven industry, giving unqualified professional the responsibility for complex and mission-critical projects implies a high risk.

I see it as a task for LISA to work with the various initiators in this area (E.g., Localisation Research Centre, Austin Community College, University of Texas, the Localization Institute, etc.) to define a set of requirements plus an education and certification program for L10N Project Managers.

These deliverables are to help L10N players on both the demand and the supply side to ensure that their Project Managers are up to the job, and will help to give Project Management the recognition that it needs and deserves.

Mission

It is my belief that the localization industry will benefit from a LISA-wide, internationally recognized Project Management Development and Certification Program, and I am happy to see that this belief is shared by the LISA General Assembly. The goal of the Program is to allow the industry to standardize Project Management skills and requirements, while offering individual Project Managers the recognition and career possibilities that they need and deserve.

Roadmap

The first step will be to define the skill sets that Project Managers at various levels need to have in order to be successful in a localization environment. Based on these skill set definitions, we must decide how these requirements can be addressed using a standard, worldwide development and certification program. The preferred choice is do develop and implement a self-paced "elearning" approach as this will allow Project Managers fr»om all corners of the globe to successfully complete the program without attending classroom training in a remote location.

Once a standard LISA "PM Training Kit" has been designed and created, the program can be rolled out at both the demand side and the supply side of the industry. The intention is to provide the first PMs with a LISA certificate by the end of the year.

Call for volunteers

Successful implementation of a LISA-wide Project Management and Development Program requires the participation of various disciplines within the industry. Following my presentation at the LISA General Assembly meeting of last November, a number of people have committed to actively supporting the initiative, and I will be delighted to further grow the team. Please contact me by email if you feel that you can contribute.

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TERMINOLOGY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ADVISORY

Kara Warburton
IBM Terminologist
IBM Canada
(kara@ca.ibm.com)

Rationale

At the last OSCAR meeting in Orlando, Florida, during discussions on terminology data exchange standards, industry representatives expressed a need for guidelines on key principles, methodologies, and best practices to support their practical, day-to-day needs in terminology management. It was noted that the mandate of the existing OSCAR SIG focuses on data exchange formats and there was an expressed need for a forum extending beyond this technical aspect of terminology. Many of the members of OSCAR and their staff are not formally trained terminologists and would therefore benefit from industry guidance of a wider scope.

Mission

The mission of the Terminology Representative on the Executive Committee Advisory will be to create a community of key industry players who are active in terminology management and research, to permit dialog about terminology methodology that facilitates globalization. The Terminology Representative will act as a facilitator for the development and dissemination of research into terminology practices that will assist LISA members in internationalization, localization, and globalization.

Scope

With input from the identified industry players, the Terminology Executive Committee Advisory will identify and promote terminology standards and develop industry-specific guidelines as they apply to the terminology process, and the content and nature of terminology data, within the context of globalization. The Terminology Advisory will complement, not overlap, the existing work of the OSCAR SIG on TBX and XLT by focussing on aspects of terminology process and content rather than on data exchange standards.

Activities

• Identify key industry players and set up an on-line discussion forum.
• Survey the key industry players in order to identify the best practices and most applicable standards for LISA members.
• Analyze the survey results and submit to LISA for distribution.
• Identify areas of weak practices and propose strategies to address those weaknesses. As appropriate and if funding and logistics permit, conduct a face-to-face brainstorming meeting with key industry players. Maintain close links with OSCAR to synergize the work with the data exchange standards.

Roadmap

As Terminology Advisory to LISA, Kara Warburton, IBM Terminologist, is planning to survey a range of enterprises that perform terminology management as part of their globalization activities. This survey will gather information about the best industry practices for managing terminology, including areas such as work flow, reuse of data and resources, and the types of data that most effectively support the globalization and localization process. If your company wishes to participate in the survey, send Kara an e-mail: kara@ca.ibm.com.

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INTERNATIONALIZATION & GLOBALIZATION

David W. Johnston
President and CEO
Johnston & Associates Inc.
(D_Johnston@JAglobal.com)

The objective of this role is to guide LISA to reposition itself to bring focus and attention to the broader need of the software-creating company bent on supporting users in multiple geographies. This requires broad awareness of the challenges and international requirements as they apply at the departmental level within the software-creating company. This is a holistic approach that should combine technology but just as importantly process excellence. Every department within the company has a set of requirements and deliverables that are altered by their worldwide target customers.

The goal is to reset the agenda of LISA into an umbrella organization that focuses on localization, internationalization, and globalization as separate areas of focus and communication. In doing so, LISA would solicit best practices in each of these three areas to provide the guidance needed by companies who move into the worldwide software marketing, research, software requirements definition, design, development, fulfillment and support environment.

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MANAGEMENT EDUCATION – GLOBALIZATION STRATEGY

Rose Lockwood,
Berlitz GlobalNET
(Rose.Lockwood@Berlitz.ie)

Situation

LISA constituencies are changing. On the demand side, customers for globalization services are joining more traditional buyers of localization services, while localization buyers are increasingly involved in setting and fulfilling the globalization strategies of their companies. Similarly on the supply side, new market entrants focused on the globalization process, of which translation and localization are only a part, are joining the LISA community, while "traditional" localization suppliers are expanding their globalization services. The new constituencies have new requirements that will shape the future of LISA, as localization is embedded in mainstream business planning for companies that operate across borders, especially on the Web. Few players on either side of the market have the full depth and breadth of knowledge needed for the challenges of this new environment.

Proposition

Create a LISA committee to promote the development of management education appropriate to the challenges of global business—expertise in globalization strategy, particularly as it relates to the creation and management of business content. Topics (not definitive) that might be considered:

Globalization perspectives

• Growth of FDI and international trade (nation states, regionalism, TNCs, "new world order")
• Globalizing strategic management; cultural factors in global management
• Technology and demographics (communication and the knowledge society)
• Supranational organizations and institutions (EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, WTO, UN, World Bank/IMF)

The Global Business Environment

• Globalizing operations management
• Globalization services and technologies
• Market entry choices
• Liberalization, deregulation & privatization
• Exchange rates, EMU, legal environment of international business transactions
• Intellectual property
• Technical and industry standards
• Business ethics in a global context—corporate responsibility

The objective is to improve knowledge and understanding within the LISA community of these important globalization issues, and to encourage adequate training of new people coming into the industry.

Actions

• Create a forum/network of people with knowledge and skills over a broader range of globalization issues than is currently covered by LISA
• Encourage collaboration between "globalization thought leaders", LISA, management training organizations, and business schools
• Encourage the development of resources like LEIT, and MBA-type courseware flexible enough to be incorporated into mainstream management education (complementing core curriculum), or used as standalone specialist training in business schools or distance learning environments.

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LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGIES, MT AND CONTROLLED LANGUAGE

Jochen Hummel
Chairman and CTO
TRADOS Inc.
(jochen@trados.com)

Language technology has become one of the major drivers in our industry. Powerful applications currently developed will drastically change the way how companies interact. LISA has to play an active role in observing the current developments, informing about the state of the art, discussing visions of new technology, and promote or create standards. By making CIOs of other industries aware of the possibilities of language technology LISA can raise the reputation and profile of our industry and its players.

Being the CTO of a leading language technology software company for many years I have a profound knowledge in that field. As a successful entrepreneur I have a good understanding of business, but at the same time I still deal with real code. This and more than a decade of experience should allow me to effectively advise LISA on the presence and future of language technology.

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THE SME SOLUTIONS SECTOR

(See "LISA SME Network– The FAQs")

Renee Sztabelski
Director
HiText
(renees@hitext.com)

The mission of this Advisory platform is to provide its members with equal opportunities in meeting market requirements and to offer customers a real choice.

The objectives of the Small and Medium Enterprises Platform are to cooperate on wider-scale projects by means of a collaboration agreement, to provide customers with tailor-made solutions by means of a unified approach, to reduce operational expenses by means of increased purchasing power, and to increase their knowledge base by means of information exchange.