Poll: What is your biggest frustration with modern Translation Management Systems (TMS) and CAT tools?
De persoon die dit onderwerp heeft geplaatst: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
MEDEWERKER SITE
Jul 29

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What is your biggest frustration with modern Translation Management Systems (TMS) and CAT tools?".

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Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise  Identity Verified
België
Local time: 20:59
Lid 2020
Frans naar Nederlands
+ ...
CAT tools Jul 29

My biggest frustration is the shift to subscription models of software in general. It apparently makes a good reason to shamelessly double, triple or even quadruple prices compared to eternal licenses.

WolfgangS
Sebastian Witte
Li-Hsiang Hsu
Luis M. Sosa
Renée van Bijsterveld
Philippe Etienne
Philip Lees
 
Sebastian Witte
Sebastian Witte  Identity Verified
Duitsland
Local time: 20:59
Lid 2004
Engels naar Duits
+ ...
CAT tools Jul 29

1. Paying fees for minor incremental updates. (Or rather, what Lieven said).
2. Laggy platforms. (We do not use browser-based editors when working in our own CAT tool).
3. AI features forced into them. (However, these can easily be ignored.)

Even so, we're 100% faster than when working with no CAT tool.


Maria Laura Curzi
Luis M. Sosa
Zea_Mays
Andrus Lauringson
 
Li-Hsiang Hsu
Li-Hsiang Hsu  Identity Verified
Frankrijk
Local time: 20:59
Frans naar Chinees
+ ...
Complexity and inconsisitency - an example of XTM Jul 29

There are at least three to five ways to connect to XTM to manage tasks, translations, and invoicing; such complexity, cumbersomeness, and lack of consistency do not reflect high-performance engineering, but rather sheer incompetence.

And its TM and concordance research barely work well.


Andrus Lauringson
 
Luis M. Sosa
Luis M. Sosa  Identity Verified
Ecuador
Local time: 13:59
Engels naar Spaans
+ ...
Speed Jul 29

Question is for both PMs and translators. But I guess only translators will show up here.

I have the impression that I already have said this in a previous related poll.

With respect to CAT tools, large projects (>15k with large TMs) turn them to virtual elephants. QA checks also become quite slow or nightmarish, and, believe me, it does not depend on the internet connection speed. Could give 3 names, but it might sound incorrect.


 
Zea_Mays
Zea_Mays  Identity Verified
Italië
Local time: 20:59
Engels naar Duits
+ ...
ouch 07:04

Luis M. Sosa wrote:

With respect to CAT tools, large projects (>15k with large TMs) turn them to virtual elephants. QA checks also become quite slow or nightmarish, and, believe me, it does not depend on the internet connection speed. Could give 3 names, but it might sound incorrect.


Ah, this touches a sensitive point! I often have to dismiss hundreds of false postives, and if you don't know how to do this in bulk, it can really drive you mad and cost a lot of time.
In a recent project with various 10ks words I asked the client to disable the live QA as it was slowing the editor page to prehistoric speed.
A very weak point in current CAT tools is surely the use of AI for translation. So far, none of them could beat trained neural engines, meaning you'll have tons of inconsistencies, ignored glossaries and TMs etc. etc. (AI bots do not remember things for longer periods.) I just hope that AI subscriptions will become so costly in the near term that these gimmics will disappear very soon!



[Bearbeitet am 2026-07-30 07:06 GMT]


The Shredder
Christine Andersen
Maria Laura Curzi
 
Li-Hsiang Hsu
Li-Hsiang Hsu  Identity Verified
Frankrijk
Local time: 20:59
Frans naar Chinees
+ ...
Stupid AI QA checks 07:23

While I am quite OK with AI translation, which makes postediting rather like proofreading with somehow more mindful checks, I am really annoyed with so many stupid AI QA checks, which unnecessarily waste much time. In the end, I don't think AI saves us a lot of time.

[Edited at 2026-07-30 07:24 GMT]


The Shredder
Hideki Yoshida
Zea_Mays
Andrus Lauringson
Maria Laura Curzi
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
Verenigd Koninkrijk
Local time: 19:59
Lid 2014
Japans naar Engels
I feel your pain 12:12

Zea_Mays wrote:
Ah, this touches a sensitive point! I often have to dismiss hundreds of false postives, and if you don't know how to do this in bulk, it can really drive you mad and cost a lot of time.

Now, imagine that same problem but exacerbated by the fact that you're dealing with a CJK source language, where things like unit numbers (units of ten thousand, hundred million, etc.) are different to those used in English. Neither Trados nor Phrase have sensible support for this kind of thing - I had to create my own tools to deal with these issues, and many others.

Dan


Zea_Mays
Maria Laura Curzi
 
Zea_Mays
Zea_Mays  Identity Verified
Italië
Local time: 20:59
Engels naar Duits
+ ...
basics 14:45

Dan Lucas wrote:

Zea_Mays wrote:
Ah, this touches a sensitive point! I often have to dismiss hundreds of false postives, and if you don't know how to do this in bulk, it can really drive you mad and cost a lot of time.

Now, imagine that same problem but exacerbated by the fact that you're dealing with a CJK source language, where things like unit numbers (units of ten thousand, hundred million, etc.) are different to those used in English. Neither Trados nor Phrase have sensible support for this kind of thing - I had to create my own tools to deal with these issues, and many others.

Dan


You'd think that's basics any CAT tool should be able to handle. Curious about your tools... In Phrase, I ended up sorting all QA flags by category or comment, marking all identical ones like in excel (mark the first entry, hold the shift key and mark the last entry) and then selecting Ignore on one of them. Gone they are! Of course, this QA madness risks to let you overlook real issues, but that's the price (I do some random checks among the flags, though).

(Glad to see you in the forums again, I think you have been greatly missed by quite some people here! )


Maria Laura Curzi
Lieven Malaise
Michele Fauble
 


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Poll: What is your biggest frustration with modern Translation Management Systems (TMS) and CAT tools?






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