How are localized versions of maritime documentation validated and quality-assured in DITA?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Validating and quality-assuring localized versions of maritime documentation in DITA XML involves a systematic approach to ensure accuracy, consistency, and adherence to industry standards. This process typically consists of multiple steps, including manual reviews, automated checks, and linguistic validation.

Manual Review

One crucial step is the manual review of localized content. Subject matter experts and linguists thoroughly examine the translated material to verify its technical accuracy, terminology consistency, and compliance with maritime regulations. DITA’s structured authoring helps reviewers focus on specific topics or sections, making the validation process more efficient. Additionally, metadata, such as the last review date and reviewer’s name, can be embedded in DITA topics to track the status of validation.

Automated Checks

Automation is a valuable tool in the validation of localized maritime documentation. DITA XML allows for the integration of automated checks and alerts into the content workflow. These checks can identify issues like missing translations, incorrect language attributes, or broken links. By leveraging automated scripts and tools, maritime companies can quickly flag content that requires validation, ensuring that localized versions meet the necessary quality standards.

Linguistic Validation

Linguistic validation is another critical aspect of quality assurance. Linguists or language experts review the translated content for linguistic accuracy, fluency, and cultural appropriateness. DITA’s support for conditional text and localization attributes allows linguists to focus on specific language variations within the documentation, ensuring that the content is tailored effectively for the target audience.

Example:

Here’s an example of how DITA XML can facilitate the validation of localized maritime documentation:


<topic id="safety_guidelines" xml_lang="en">
  <title>Safety Guidelines</title>
  <body>
    <section>
      <title xml_lang="fr">Version Française</title>
      <p xml_lang="fr">Suivez ces directives de sécurité pour un voyage en toute sécurité.</p>
    </section>
  </body>
  <validation>
    <review-status>Approved</review-status>
    <linguistic-validation-status>Complete</linguistic-validation-status>
    <last-validated>2023-11-10</last-validated>
  </validation>

In this example, a DITA topic includes language-specific sections for both English and French. The validation section tracks the review and linguistic validation status, ensuring that the localized content undergoes thorough quality assurance.