Usability research for interpreter-centred technology: The case study of SmarTerp

Francesca Maria Frittella

Usability research for interpreter-centred technology: The case study of SmarTerp

Authors

Francesca Maria Frittella

University of Twente

Synopsis

Technological advancement is reshaping the ways in which language interpreters operate. This poses existential challenges to the profession but also offers new opportunities. This books moves from the design of the computer-assisted interpreting tool SmarTerp as a case study of impact-driven interpreting technology research. It demonstrates how usability testing was used to achieve an interpreter-centred design. By contextualising the case study within the past and current developments of translation and interpreting technology research, this book seeks to inform and inspire a redefinition of the conceptualisation of interpreting technology research—not just as a tool to understand change but to drive it into a sustainable and human direction.

Author Biography

Francesca Maria Frittella, University of Twente

Francesca Maria Frittella is a conference interpreter, interpreter trainer, researcher, and educational designer. Her doctoral research at the University of Surrey (UK) focuses on research-based computer-assisted interpreting training.

Francesca has co-founded Interpremy – an online academy for research-based interpreter training – and works as an e-learning consultant at the University of Twente (NL).

Within the framework of the SmarTerp project, she adapted evaluation methods from usability engineering to attain an evidence-based and human-centric design of interpreting technology.