
Software localization string context desk
Context before translation begins.
- For
- Product localization engineers
- Solves
- Translators receive strings without interface context.
- Delivers
- Linguist-ready string context pack
- Built in
- about 3 weeks of creation time, MVP in 4 days
- Investment
- $13,500 for the MVP, $46,000 for the full product
- Run it
- Inside your business, or as part of your offer to clients
What it does
For product localization engineers, turn owned strings and screenshots into linguist-ready string context pack.
- Link strings to screens.
- Explain placeholders.
- Flag missing context.
- Link proposed outputs to original source records.
- Capture reviewer corrections and approval.
- Export a versioned linguist-ready string context pack.
What goes in, what comes out
- Owned strings
- Screenshots
AI drafts, people review. Source-based content workspace with editorial delivery.
- Linguist-ready string context pack
How it works
The workflow
- InStart with
Owned strings and screenshots
- 1
The buyer creates a project
- 2
Supplies owned strings and screenshots
- 3
Confirms scope and access
- OutFinish with
Linguist-ready string context pack
AI does the heavy lifting, people stay in charge
AI assists these bounded tasks: link strings to screens; explain placeholders; flag missing context. Use only owned strings and screenshots and preserve uncertainty in linguist-ready string context pack. Keep model suggestions separate from verified facts. Link factual outputs to authorized input evidence and show missing information explicitly. Use deterministic checks for counts, dates, identifiers and arithmetic where applicable. A designated reviewer validates consequential outputs and signs off the delivered result.
What your team sees
Key screens: Brief and sources, Software localization string context desk, Review and delivery. Use a project list and editorial calendar beside a document editor. Keep original material and supporting passages in a collapsible side panel. Show outline, draft, review and approved stages. Provide tracked edits, comments, version comparisons and an export preview that reflects the final delivery format. Open with brief and sources; move into software localization string context desk for the detailed task; finish in review and delivery for review and handoff. Show the source record, uncertainty and approval status beside each proposed output.
Accounts and administration
Client workspaces, source permissions, editorial assignments, change history, reviewer comments, approval gates, revision allowances and export templates. Include organization-scoped access, named project owners, review queues, usage limits, export history and retention settings. Never reuse private customer material for other accounts without permission.
Integrations and data access
Authorized repositories, technical documentation, application APIs and logs. Document storage, word processor export, content management systems and approved publishing channels. Pilot with uploads and downloadable drafts before adding write integrations. Begin with uploads and exports of owned strings and screenshots. Any named system or connector is a candidate requiring current access and compatibility checks; no live connection is included by default.
How we build it
We build with our own AI software development factory, so most implementations take days to a few weeks of creation time, not months. You see working software at every step, and exact timing depends on availability.
- 1
Scoping call
Day 1Thirty minutes on your process, your data and how you want to run it: for your own team, or for your clients. You get a fixed scope and price for the MVP.
- 2
MVP
4 daysOne buyer segment, one recurring use case; first modules: link strings to screens; explain placeholders. Manual review in the loop. Built by our AI software factory.
- 3
Paid pilot
5 daysAccounts, roles, review states, audit trail and the first integration, hardened for two to three paying pilot customers.
- 4
Full product
8 daysSelf-serve onboarding, billing, monitoring and the wider integration set.
- 5
Run and improve
MonthlyWe host, monitor and improve it for a fixed monthly fee, or hand it over to your team. How the retainer works.
Why we start with an MVP
An MVP, or minimum viable product, is the smallest version that your users can actually work with. It is not a cheap version of the full solution. It is a test, built to answer the questions that decide whether the rest is worth building.
- Pick the riskiest assumption. Here: will product localization engineers use it to solve "translators receive strings without interface context"?
- Build only what tests it. One team, one use case, a few core modules. People do the rest by hand for now.
- Run a paid pilot. Agree the acceptance criteria, input limits and reviewer responsibilities before starting.
- Measure, then decide. Track translator clarification requests; reviewer correction minutes; buyer acceptance and repeat purchase. Then expand, change course or stop, with evidence instead of opinions.
MVP scope for this solution. Costed pilot: One organization, one defined input format and one representative pilot batch using owned strings and screenshots. Professional judgment, physical inspections, live external actions and production certification remain outside this prototype. Start with one buyer organization and a bounded set of representative inputs. Implement the first two modules: link strings to screens; explain placeholders. Support the third task through an assisted review queue: flag missing context. Handle the remaining required functions manually until validated. Include input upload, source references, user correction, a reviewer approval step and export of linguist-ready string context pack. Authentication, account isolation, deletion controls and basic operational logging are included. Specialized production certification, live write integrations and broader rollout are not included unless explicitly stated.
After the MVP. After paying customers repeatedly accept linguist-ready string context pack, automate link proposed outputs to original source records; capture reviewer corrections and approval; export a versioned linguist-ready string context pack. Add one tested read integration, reusable customer configuration and scheduled repeat delivery. Increase supported formats or teams only when evaluation cases and reviewer capacity cover the new scope. One organization, one defined input format and one representative pilot batch using owned strings and screenshots. Professional judgment, physical inspections, live external actions and production certification remain outside this prototype.
What the build depends on. Document parsing, a source-linked editor, tracked revisions, reviewer workflow and reliable document export. Rich presentation or print output needs format-specific QA. Obtain representative authorized inputs, an agreed review rubric and a buyer-side owner. Specific scope: One organization, one defined input format and one representative pilot batch using owned strings and screenshots. Professional judgment, physical inspections, live external actions and production certification remain outside this prototype.
Investment
A planning range to start the conversation, not a quote. You pay per phase, so you can stop after the MVP.
- Phase 1
MVP
One buyer segment, one recurring use case; first modules: link strings to screens; explain placeholders. Manual review in the loop.
- Phase 2
Paid pilot
Accounts, roles, review states, audit trail and the first integration, hardened for two to three paying pilot customers.
- Phase 3
Full product
Self-serve onboarding, billing, monitoring and the wider integration set.
Indicative total, MVP to full product$46,000about 3 weeks of creation time · start with the MVP from $13,500
Running costs per month
A rough indication of monthly hosting and AI model costs once it is live, not tested. Real costs depend on usage, file sizes and the models chosen.
| Stage | Hosting and infrastructure | AI usage | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVP and paid pilotabout 3 customers | $30–$60 | $70–$140 | $100–$200 |
| Full productabout 50 customers | $110–$210 | $700–$1,400 | $810–$1,610 |
Run it or resell it
For your own team
Product localization engineers run it inside the business: owned strings and screenshots in, linguist-ready string context pack out, reviewed by your people.
As part of your offer
Agencies, consultancies and software companies can offer it to their own clients under their brand. We build and maintain it; you sell and deliver it.
Your brand, or this one
Run it under your own brand, or start from this concept style.
- primary
#278391 - accent
#c96254 - surface
#e4eff1 - ink
#22201e
- Headings
- Manrope
- Text
- Manrope
- Voice
- Technical, direct, no hype
Selling it to your own clients: the go-to-market playbook
Pricing to test
Test USD 400-1,500 for a tightly scoped initial content package. Convert repeated work to a monthly retainer with explicit deliverable and revision limits. Specialist review and substantial research are separately scoped. Prices are hypotheses. For this buyer, package the first sale around prepare a sample linguist-ready string context pack from a small authorized set of owned strings and screenshots and the defined linguist-ready string context pack. Record actual review effort before offering a recurring allowance. The commercial pilot fee is distinct from the platform development budget.
Message to test
Context before translation begins. Demonstrate the result with prepare a sample linguist-ready string context pack from a small authorized set of owned strings and screenshots for product localization engineers. Use a concrete before-and-after example without promising unmeasured savings.
Where to find buyers
Developer communities and specialist engineering consultancies
Lead magnet
Prepare a sample linguist-ready string context pack from a small authorized set of owned strings and screenshots
The first 30 days
- Week 1: interview five prospective buyers from product localization engineers and inspect how they handle translators receive strings without interface context.
- Week 2: prepare prepare a sample linguist-ready string context pack from a small authorized set of owned strings and screenshots using authorized or synthetic material.
- Week 3: share the demonstration through developer communities and specialist engineering consultancies and seek one bounded paid pilot.
- Week 4: measure translator clarification requests; reviewer correction minutes; buyer acceptance and repeat purchase, review delivery effort and ask for a repeat purchase. This is a validation schedule, not a promise that the full product can be built in thirty days.
Paid pilot
Agree the acceptance criteria, input limits and reviewer responsibilities before starting. Run prepare a sample linguist-ready string context pack from a small authorized set of owned strings and screenshots and deliver linguist-ready string context pack. Compare translator clarification requests; reviewer correction minutes; buyer acceptance and repeat purchase with the buyer's current process on comparable cases; include corrections, missed issues and reviewer time. Seek payment and repeat use. Stop or revise the scope if data access, accuracy or unit economics fail.
Success metrics
Translator clarification requests; reviewer correction minutes; buyer acceptance and repeat purchase
Retention and expansion
Build repeat use around linguist-ready string context pack. Save approved configurations and review decisions with permission, revisit unresolved exceptions and show progress on translator clarification requests; reviewer correction minutes; buyer acceptance and repeat purchase. Offer a recurring volume allowance after repeat demand; expand to adjacent tasks only when the buyer asks and delivery quality remains acceptable.
Why clients would pick it
Customer-approved terminology, reusable structures, source libraries and editorial feedback tied to a specific audience and recurring publishing workflow. For this concept, accumulate permissioned examples and reviewer corrections around context before translation begins. The durable asset is reliable task-specific execution and trusted customer configuration, not access to a general-purpose AI model.
Alternatives and positioning
Writers, editors, agencies, internal document templates and general-purpose chat tools. Position this concept around context before translation begins. Compare it against the customer's current process on the same representative task. This is proposed differentiation; no exhaustive competitor study or uniqueness claim has been established.
Main delivery costs
Research and interview time, transcription, model usage, factual verification, subject-matter review, editing and revisions. Initial validation additionally budgets for representative sample preparation, interviews with product localization engineers, and buyer-side review of linguist-ready string context pack. Track model usage, storage, reviewer minutes, exception handling and customer support per accepted deliverable.
Safeguards
Protect secrets, customer data and source code. Use controlled environments, technical review and a recoverable deployment process. One organization, one defined input format and one representative pilot batch using owned strings and screenshots. Professional judgment, physical inspections, live external actions and production certification remain outside this prototype. Require appropriate access and publication approval. Preserve source material, label AI drafts and make corrections traceable. Measure false positives and missed cases alongside speed.