When it comes down to it, the final judge of product quality is the consumer. Chances are, a few terminological errors are not going to make or break the success of your product on the international market—depending on the egregiousness of the errors. Nevertheless, it’s true that inconsistency does come with its own set of serious repercussions. Poorly managed terminology has a direct effect on usability, and can effectively demolish the reputability of an otherwise functional and quality deliverable.
Consider this:
The New EU Machinery Directives (BS EN ISO 13840-1 and 62061) dictate that machine manufacturers must translate all user instructional materials into target European Union languages before a set date in 2012. As a part of these Directives, there are also conditions stating that consumers can return machinery if either the machine itself—or the machine’s user manual—is defective.
Terminological inconsistency is a contradiction and, because of this, inconsistency is a defect. To keep your products safely on the market, and to maximize their usability, terminology management is a must—no ifs, ands, or buts.
Consumers, after all, want to get what they paid for: a quality product that is free of defects.