INSIDER: What was your overall strategy for building the global content management system (GCMS) at PeopleSoft?

We had to automate our manual processes for synchronizing thousands of pages of content in 10 languages across 24 web sites.

To provide some perspective on our business: PeopleSoft is the world’s second largest enterprise application software company and the single largest vendor of mid-market solutions, with customers in 150 countries. Obviously, our international revenues are critical to the company’s success. We had to come up with a way to automate our manual processes for synchronizing thousands of pages of content in 10 languages across 24 web sites. Although our web content is managed and published with Interwoven TeamSite, there was no central control that extended across our distributed localization team of glossary translators, page producers, and local and in-country reviewers.

The strategy was to build a system to manage this process seamlessly. At the same time, we needed to provide an on-demand environment in which our people could efficiently translate large volumes of small pieces of content from within TeamSite.

Editor’s Note: For background information on the type of challenge faced by companies like PeopleSoft, please read Pierre Cadieux’s article in our last issue, “Globalization Is Here! Part 1: The Year of Content” and Ann Rockley’s article, “Managing Global Content: A Unified Content Strategy.”

INSIDER: Were there any unusual challenges that you faced?

To be absolutely honest, not at the beginning. Then, as with almost all implementations, an unforeseen event occurred. In our case, that was our merger with J.D. Edwards. At the beginning, these were the challenges that our strategy was intended to meet:

1. Managing frequent updates of online product information in 10 languages across 24 web sites.
2. Supporting our existing distributed team of glossary translators, page producers, and local and in-country reviewers.
3. Centrally controlling the storage and use of our translation memories.
4. Providing scalability for other teams within PeopleSoft, including our local offices.
5. And the clincher… delivering high-quality, translated content while, at the same time, reducing time–to–market and cost.

After our merger with J.D. Edwards, we faced the added challenge of needing to translate our newly integrated English-language website content into all of our languages within a very tight timeframe. Specifically, our needs in this case were to:

1. Automate the preparation and post-translation reintegration processes in TeamSite.
2. Enable TeamSite users to initiate and retrieve translations from within their environment.

That’s where we really enjoyed the benefit of SDLWorkflow, which helped automate many of our processes.

INSIDER: What are the components to this GCM implementation? How much has PeopleSoft invested in it?

People, process and technology, integrated intelligently.

People, process and technology. We have taken all three elements and put them together intelligently, with our partners’ help. I think that’s why we have been so successful. The technical and workflow components include Interwoven TeamSite and SDLWorkFlow. The human expertise is provided by SDL’s worldwide translation and project management services.

PeopleSoft has invested a significant amount of money and people resources in implementing TeamSite and SDL Workflow, and we’re seeing increased productivity and cost savings as a result. What’s more, these tools have taken our website publishing and maintenance to a whole new level of quality, consistency and accuracy.

Editor’s Note: For a clear picture (literally) of what GCM systems are, please consult Pierre Cadieux’s reference model for automating localization workflow.

INSIDER: What internal battles did you have to fight to convince upper management that this model was the right one for PeopleSoft?

Fortunately, our first SDL implementation involving centralized translation memory went well.

We had to sell upwards since management wanted to understand why we couldn’t use the same internal resources available to our product group. PeopleSoft is a bit different in that it has an internal team available to localize its product line. We had to show upper management why it wasn’t a viable solution to wait on internal resources to maintain a dynamic web site deployed worldwide. We also had to prove to upper management that we had done hard research about the leaders in the localization industry.

Fortunately, our first SDL implementation involving centralized translation memory went well. When it came to investing in the workflow piece later on, it was a relatively easy sale once we explained the productivity benefits of the technology.

INSIDER: What were your selection criteria for vendors? Why did you choose SDL?

We developed a Request for Quote (RFQ) and commissioned test translations. Our local offices were involved in the review process. We brought three candidates into our Pleasanton office in the U.S. and interviewed them. We chose SDL because they, quite simply, (1) delivered the best translations overall, (2) were well-established and reputable, and (3) we really felt comfortable with the expertise of their account management team in the U.S., as well as in the U.K. In addition, they had a local office in the Bay Area.

It has made a huge difference to consistently work with a team of people who are trying to do the best thing for PeopleSoft.

Too often we underestimate the importance of the personal and business relationships that need to be established during major implementations and large-scale projects. It has made a huge difference to consistently work with a team of people who are trying to do the best thing for PeopleSoft. These relationships are the key to obtaining just the right balance between humans, process and technology. Responsiveness is critical, and SDL continues to meet our expectations, even though the implementation phase is over.

INSIDER: What role did standards play in your choice of a solution? Was it important that the solution support Translation Memory eXchange (TMX)?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, the importance of TMX was about a 7. We need the capability to be there in case we decide to share translation memories internally within PeopleSoft in the future.

Editor’s Note: For more details on the standards that come into play with GCM, please refer to Pierre Cadieux’s presentation at the recent LISA Forum USA in Washington D.C., “Globalizing Enterprise Content: A Reference Model and Applicable Standards” (available to LISA General Assembly members).

INSIDER: How long did the entire implementation process take, from the time you developed the RFQ until users were up and running?

We implemented the SDL components in two phases. After selecting SDL as our translation vendor, we migrated all of our local website content into TeamSite, while also moving into a new site architecture and design. The whole process took about five months, with this phase ending a few months before the merger with J.D. Edwards.

We never could have relaunched 24 languages in three months without this workflow management system.

By the time we entered the second phase, we had a very good working relationship established, and SDL was familiar with our terminology, our workflow and how to work with our local offices. The second phase included the implementation of SDLWorkFLow and took about three months. Then we put the system through a trial by fire after our J.D. Edwards merger. We used SDL Workflow to translate nearly all of the newly integrated pages on our English-language corporate website into nine other languages. We needed to translate and relaunch our international sites within three months.

And you know what, the technology did exactly what it was supposed to do. We never could have relaunched 24 web sites in three months without this workflow management system. We were able to save approximately USD 75,000 on this project alone.

INSIDER: How many staff were required for the SDLWorkFlow implementation?

It required two producers to set up the workflow rules that we wanted to use. These were handed off to an IT person who spent about three days working with SDL to implement them to integrate with TeamSite. Of course, there was a project manager involved, along with myself as the business manager. It required the QA and testing efforts of about fifteen people from our headquarters office as well.

INSIDER: What has gone more smoothly than expected? What has proved to be more problematic than you anticipated?

We have reduced the number of manual steps from 36 to 6! What continues to be a challenge is the glossary creation and management.

The actual implementation and performance of the technology components from SDL have surpassed our expectations, especially in the areas where our authors submit text for translation, and we later extract the translated version. And we are finding that it is truly scalable. It works and performs according to spec. This happens so rarely with software, that one is always a bit shocked when it does.

Proof of this is that we have reduced the number of manual steps for rebuilding a translated page in TeamSite from 36 to 6! All that we are left with now are the steps during which we double-check our own codes, spot-check the page banners, update URLs for graphics and spot-check the main content. We are working with SDL right now to automate even more, so we expect the number of manual steps to be reduced even further.

What continues to be a challenge is the glossary creation and management. In hindsight, we should have done a bit more preparation with our local offices. PeopleSoft’s process in this area is similar to that of many high-tech companies, i.e., terminology work and translation review are assigned as a part of a person’s job description in a local office. However, there is often not enough time to do what needs to be done. Translating new terminology for high-tech products within a tight timeframe is not easy.

INSIDER: What advice can you provide to our readers to prevent them from reinventing the wheel when embarking on a similar project?

There are two pieces of advice that I would give. First, I would recommend that a company implement its content management system first, if it has the resources to do so. This is what PeopleSoft did. Second, as part of a large translation project, I would highly recommend that final linguistic reviews take place after the content is outside of the firewall. The final reviewers must see the content in context in order to do the job that needs to be done.

Of course, to be able to do this, you must truly be partnering with your language services provider so that the translated content delivered is consistently of the very highest quality.

Editor’s Note: For help to avoid reinventing the GCM wheel, plan on attending the “Automating Localization Workflow” workshop at the upcoming LISA Global Strategies 2004 Summit on June 21.

INSIDER: Has this solution improved the quality of the English source at all?

Yes. Though we use no controlled authoring tools at this point, implementing the GCM system has refocused our authors on creating text that is simpler, cleaner and more web-appropriate.

INSIDER: What metrics has this solution enabled?

There are several types of reports available from SDLWorkFLow. What is most important is our ability to track exactly how many and which pages are translated per quarter. We can report (and charge!) back to a particular product group how much change is taking place with regards to the content generated by its product(s). We can prove that we’re keeping pace with the marketing efforts of product groups now, as well.

SDL Workflow also instantly calculates an estimate of costs once you’ve submitted a translation job. This helps us determine the best way to use our translation budget. With visibility into the cost, we can translate content in regular phases or on-demand if we wish, coordinating with our budget.

Editor’s Note: For a perspective on how to measure return on investment for multilingual web sites, please read Jesús Maroto’s article, “ROI in Multilingual Websites From a Marketing Perspective.

INSIDER: What do you have planned for the future?

To continue to provide high-quality localized content as rapidly as possible. We will also be focusing on working with our local offices to develop more local content.

Savitha Varadan has 18 years of experience in content creation and publishing, including 10 years in digital and online media. She has held leadership roles at ThirdAge Media, Preview Travel (Travelocity) and the Fodors-Worldview Travel Update. She is the author of two books about online travel resources and has taught web content development at San Jose State University in California.