Use this checklist after the final manual release is approved and before project closeout. It confirms that source files, translation memories, termbases, change records, and controlled handoff materials are ready for the next product revision, market, or language. A project owner first checks each item; an independent reviewer then verifies it.
Companion guide: Multilingual Manual Asset Management QA (Part 8). This checklist is a practical control aid. Contractual retention, access, ownership, and secure deletion requirements take precedence.
Project information and sign-off
| Field | Record |
|---|---|
| Product / model | |
| Project code | |
| Approved document revision | |
| Languages / locales | |
| Delivery channels | ☐ PDF ☐ HTML/web ☐ Mobile ☐ Print ☐ Other |
| Release / delivery date | |
| Receiving party | ☐ Manufacturer ☐ Internal operations ☐ Next vendor ☐ Other |
| Security classification | ☐ Standard ☐ Restricted / secure project |
| Project/format owner self-check / date | |
| Independent reviewer / date | |
| Final disposition | ☐ Approved: all applicable Critical checks passed; handoff confirmed. ☐ Rejected: remediation and repeat verification required. |
How to use and rate the checks
A · Critical (9): All applicable checks must pass before closeout. B · Major (8): Target zero; record any approved exceptions with an owner and corrective deadline. C · Minor (1): Track as an improvement item.
Mark each item separately for Self and Reviewer. Use Pass, Fail, or N/A. N/A is appropriate only when the control genuinely does not apply; explain why. Lack of time or missing evidence is not N/A. Where a Critical check fails, pause sign-off and resolve it before approval.
For packaged files, a person other than the creator should open the package in a separate environment.
A · Source file archive
| 01 · B · File naming | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Can product, document type, locale, revision, and output channel be identified from filenames under the agreed convention? |
| Results | Project/format owner (Self): ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 02 · A · Complete source package | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Are editable masters, linked artwork, and reusable dependencies included? Are fonts supplied only where licensing permits? Does the package open without broken dependencies? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 03 · B · Locale and channel folders | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Are approved source, language, PDF, HTML, and print assets filed in their specified folders without missing or ambiguous versions? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 04 · A · Recoverable backup | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Are approved final assets stored in at least two appropriately independent, recoverable locations with access and retention information recorded? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
B · Translation and terminology assets
| 05 · A · Final translation memory | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Has the TM been reconciled to final approved corrections, with duplicates or conflicting units handled and the baseline revision recorded? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 06 · A · Approved termbase | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Does the termbase contain final approved terms and language-specific decisions, with update date and revision recorded? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 07 · B · Do-not-translate entries | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Are product names, model identifiers, trademarks, and approved fixed strings reflected in the latest protected-term list? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 08 · B · Locale style guides | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Have punctuation, number formatting, capitalization, and other project decisions been added to the relevant locale guides? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
C · Revision history and sign-off
| 09 · B · Traceable change history | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Does the revision log identify what changed, why, when, and in which approved release? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 10 · A · Issue disposition | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Is each comment resolved, rejected with rationale, or explicitly deferred to a named owner and future release? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 11 · A · QA approval evidence | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Are checks and approvals from Parts 1–7, approvers, dates, and any accepted exceptions archived or traceably linked? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
D · Future update readiness
| 12 · B · Language expansion | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Can additional languages or markets reuse controlled source, TM, terminology, and guides without undocumented workarounds? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 13 · C · Change impact map | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Is there a mapping from reusable topics to affected models, output formats, and languages for future firmware or content updates? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 14 · A · Reprint package | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Where printing applies, are print-ready PDFs, editable source, printer specifications, preflight evidence, and release approvals available? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 15 · B · Standards monitoring | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Are relevant standards and regulatory requirements assigned to a monitoring owner, review interval, and trigger for document updates? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
E · Handoff and secure closeout
| 16 · A · Complete handoff manifest | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Is there one controlled package or manifest covering source, TM, termbase, style guides, revision logs, QA evidence, and delivery files? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 17 · B · Receipt and ownership | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | Are receiving party, transfer scope, acceptance date, access arrangements, and responsibility handoff recorded? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| 18 · A · Secure deletion | Acceptance test and review record |
|---|---|
| Check | For restricted projects requiring disposal, were all in-scope working copies and temporary files deleted as required, with independent completion evidence? |
| Results | Self: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A Reviewer: ☐ Pass ☐ Fail ☐ N/A |
| Evidence / notes | ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
Results summary and release decision
| Rating | Counts and decision |
|---|---|
| A · Critical (9) | Pass ____ Fail ____ N/A ____ Sign-off requires zero unresolved applicable failures. |
| B · Major (8) | Pass ____ Fail ____ N/A ____ Document every accepted exception and action plan. |
| C · Minor (1) | Pass ____ Fail ____ N/A ____ Track any remaining improvement item. |
| Final review | ☐ Approve handoff and archive ☐ Return for remediation |
| Approved exceptions | Item / reason / approver / residual risk / due date: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
| Receiving acknowledgment | Recipient: __________________ Date: __________ Confirmation reference: _______________________ |
| Reviewer sign-off | Name: _____________________ Date: __________ |
Frequently asked questions
- Why inspect assets just before handoff? Once the team disperses, the reasons behind terminology choices, workarounds, and issue decisions may disappear even if the files remain.
- How long does a closeout check take? It varies with the number of files, languages, and maturity of the archive. Reserve time for package assembly and independent opening; do not treat an estimate as an approval criterion.
- When can we mark N/A? Only when a control truly does not apply—for example, no print deliverable under item 14 or no contractual secure-deletion requirement under item 18. Document the reason.
- What if a Critical item remains unresolved? Do not approve closeout. Escalate the gap, assess contractual obligations, remediate, and repeat independent verification. A checklist cannot waive required legal or security controls.
- Should earlier QA records be included? Yes. Items 11 and 16 preserve release evidence from the seven preceding parts as an accountable handoff asset.
Pre-Launch QA Series for Multilingual Manuals (8 parts)
The series follows a multilingual manual from translation intake to market release, one gate at a time. Each part pairs a guide with a self-check checklist.
- Part 1 · Translation integrity Catching defects in translated files before editing
- Part 2 · DTP Multilingual typesetting and layout integrity
- Part 3 · Regulatory Market-specific regulatory and standards marking
- Part 4 · UI matching Synchronizing product screens with the document
- Part 5 · Accessibility EAA, WCAG, PDF/UA, and Section 508 conformance
- Part 6 · Multi-channel output Consistency across PDF, HTML, and mobile
- Part 7 · Print Bleed, CMYK, font embedding, and print readiness
- Part 8 · Data management Turning source files and TM into reusable assets (this checklist)