4.1 This practice is intended to apply to all translation projects regardless of the translation service provider selected (see Section 7). This practice does not apply to spoken or signed interpreting services. For interpreting, please consult Practice F2089, Practice for Language Interpreting.

4.2 Every translation project consists of three phases: pre-production, production, and post-production (see Section 6). Needs and requirements vary from project to project, hence not all roles listed in the swim lane diagram provided in Section 6 or all of the processes outlined in Sections 9 and 10 will be required necessarily in every project. Requesters should conduct a Needs Analysis (see Section 5) to determine what type of translation is needed and to select a translation grade.

4.3 A translation project applying this practice shall develop specifications according to Section 8 in the pre-production phase, follow those specifications during the production phase, and evaluate the translation project according to those specifications in the post-production phase.

4.4 The process of translation begins with source content in one language and results in the creation of a target text in another language. The aim of the process is to produce a target text (called the translation) that corresponds to the source content, according to specifications agreed upon in advance following the steps provided in Section 8.

4.5 This practice provides a list of parameters in Section 8 that shall be addressed and documented in writing to obtain a set of specifications used to create and evaluate the translation. Specifications are defined in terms of the purpose of the translation and the needs and expectations of the requester and end user. There can be many correct translations, depending on the specifications defined for a given product and the choices made by the translation service provider.