5.3.4. Managing the Workflow

The combination of a terminology management system (TMS) and a project management system to track the work of the team contributes greatly to successful project completion.

The actual terminology work involves:

• Collecting relevant documentation.
• Extracting terms and terminological data in order to develop concept systems.
• Formulating definitions.
• Structuring entries with the medium that best meets the needs of the users.

If the project involves bilingual or multilingual terminology, parallel terminology work will be required to establish terminological equivalents in the other language or languages.

Increasingly, team members use e-mail, discussion groups, Internet forums or teleconferencing to exchange information and assemble standardization files. Meetings are generally convened to resolve issues and reach agreement on the concepts, their terms and definitions. It is important to document problem cases properly and to record agreements.

Throughout this phase, the project leader must ensure compliance with established terminology technical standards and with procedures established by the project team. The project leader must continuously evaluate the work to ensure that the original specifications and the work plan are being respected.