TTI Success Insights represents over ninety countries, and one of the ways we lead the assessment tool industry is through our precise, effective statements within our reports.
So how do we make sure that we’re meeting our high standard of excellence while providing transformative experiences to as many people as possible?
The answer lies in innovation.
The Origins of Innovation
I’m Courtney Kingsbury, the Global Localization Product Owner — I own all things translation at TTI. I’m currently working with the product team and helping them implement agile methodologies. I love exploring new tech, and I’ve been watching the AI space intently, observing all of its challenges and benefits. I knew there was a great opportunity for TTI and my own work, but getting the timing right was crucial.
I personally began using AI by having it organize my brainstorming sessions and condense and clarify my emails. As I became more familiar with AI’s capabilities, I realized that translations were taking more time and resources than necessary for myself and our international partners.
First Steps With AI
TTI has reports in over 40 languages currently all managed by me. I only speak English and light conversational Spanish, so I’ve begun to use AI to respond to some of our international partners. Instead of asking them to adjust their queries and translate on their end to English, I’m adapting to their native languages instead.
As a result, we’ve had vast improvements in understanding. The concepts in questions are being translated so effectively that it’s easier to communicate than ever before. We can express our needs and understand each other without a language barrier.
After the resounding success of this experiment, I knew it was time to take AI translations to the next level.
Next Level Translations
We've divided our translation approach into three sequential steps.
Evaluation
- We began with two questionnaires, DISC and Motivators, which were already translated into different languages.
- Each English statement was listed with its intended meaning, with the existing translations listed as well.
- AI was used to translate each language back to English.
Improvement
- An AI protocol was developed to evaluate how well the translated concepts matched the original English intention, rating them on a scale from 1 to 5.
- For any concept rated below 5, the AI suggested better translation options.
- These AI suggestions were then reviewed with our Master Distributors. They gave input on localization and accuracy.
Outcome
- This method let us assess and improve the accuracy of translations in different languages.
- It also helped identify more suitable alternative terms where needed.
- With our protocols and parameters, this process’s output is 98% accurate, with the remaining 2% made up of regional preferences.
This process is proving itself time and time again to be exactly what TTI needs to improve our global offerings. Our mission is to spark transformative experiences, and we want to offer the most accurate tools to do that, for everyone. I would challenge anyone wary of AI to reframe their mindset. It’s not a person and cannot replace a person’s input and experience; instead, it’s a database and a tool that we, as people, can utilize to improve our processes and experiences.
We only began using AI at all when it became more than 90 percent accurate for concept translations, and no translation moves into the editing stage without human review. The localization process lets our native speakers review the AI output and tweak it for regional dialects and differences.
"I speak four languages and know from personal experiences how much of a difference it makes to take an assessment in your native language,” said Vanessa Boettcher, Vice President of Global Distribution. “We are so excited for the possibilities and improvements made possible in the translation process using AI."
Moving Forward with AI and Translations
This is just the beginning! We can’t wait to continue this work to serve our global community. We’re going to update the accuracy of existing translations while focusing on product ownership, outreach, and further developing agility within TTI.
This new process has accelerated the timeline of how quickly we can get our products into the international market. We’ve also had more engagement than ever with our international community. This process is clearer, it’s faster, and people are really responding to it.
TTI is committed to sparking transformative experiences in people’s everyday lives. One of the ways we do that is through constantly innovating and seeking out new and better ways to connect with others.
Are you interested in partnering with TTI? Contact us here to get started.
