The Preparation Gap: What’s Costing Project Managers Time and Margin
The Reality of Translation Project Management Every project manager in localization knows the feeling: five deadlines converging, three back-to-back client calls, and a translator waiting on a critical term clarification. Most PMs know exactly what good preparation looks like: defining terminology, setting tone and voice guidelines, and assessing document complexity before assigning tasks. They also know these steps prevent downstream issues, yet the pace of daily work leaves little room to do them properly. Urgent tasks always seem to take priority. Over time, that constant pressure turns preparation into an afterthought, and teams end up reacting to problems instead of preventing them. When everything feels urgent, preventive measures get postponed. What should happen first (careful planning) gets squeezed out by what screams loudest (deadline). The Preparation Gap Nobody Discusses Enterprise clients receive thorough upfront preparation: glossaries developed, style guides craft...