In our decade of service, we’ve come to several conclusions about how to best plan, create and implement terminology management systems. These are our basic tenets and practices:

1. We profoundly believe in the synergies of collaboration—the superior outcomes of processes where all stakeholders actively contribute and participate. The Joint Groups Model originally championed by our partner TNC fulfills this requirement, and TermWeb^® enables the process.
2. Terminology management models preferably should be implemented in steps, with continuous monitoring and revision of goals, timelines and input. Even with this approach, the introduction of a workflow and term-base structure using TermWeb has the potential to quickly revolutionize terminology management and related functions within an organization.
3. Our incremental approach by milestones allows flexibility in adhering to budget restraints. We work hard to avoid wasting anyone’s time or resources.
4. Any new management solution should leverage existing terminology-related resources. Terminology know-how—such as term bases, foreign language translations, dictionary management and glossary management—should be identified and incorporated into the infrastructure as early as possible, whether from in-house or external sources. It doesn’t make sense to embark on a new terminology initiative without tapping as much knowledge and experience as possible from the individuals involved in present and (recent) past terminology work. Any terminology steering group should include an in-house expert in branding and communications in addition to terminologists, and should enable all major product divisions and markets to be represented.
5. We favor enlisting external experts—partners—for activities that are not essential to conducting our core business. Besides the obvious advantage of continuous input from specialists in their respective fields, outsourcing is an efficient way to address issues of scalability.