Glosary
Turnaround Time
What Is Turnaround Time (TAT)?
Turnaround time (TAT) refers to the total amount of time required to complete a translation or localization task from start to finish. It measures how long it takes for content to move through the translation workflow, including translation, review, and final delivery.
Turnaround time is commonly used to track efficiency and set expectations for project timelines.
How Turnaround Time Works
Turnaround time reflects the duration of the full translation process.
Project Start The timer begins when content is submitted for translation.
Workflow Processing The content moves through translation, editing, quality assurance, and review stages.
Final Delivery Turnaround time ends when the completed translation is delivered or published.
Timeline Tracking Teams measure TAT to evaluate project performance and improve workflow efficiency.
Benefits of Measuring Turnaround Time
Tracking turnaround time helps organizations manage translation projects effectively.
- Improves project planning and scheduling
- Helps set realistic delivery timelines
- Identifies workflow bottlenecks
- Supports faster multilingual publishing
- Improves operational efficiency
Turnaround Time in Localization Workflows
Turnaround time is an important performance metric for localization teams managing large volumes of multilingual content. By optimizing tools and workflows, organizations can reduce translation turnaround times while maintaining quality.
LILT’s AI-powered translation platform helps teams reduce turnaround time by combining machine translation, automation, and human feedback to accelerate multilingual content delivery.