This Technical Specification provides general guidance for all phases of a translation project. Its main purpose is to facilitate communication among the parties involved in a project. It is intended for use by all stakeholders of the translation project, including those who request translation services, those who provide the services and those who make use of the results of the project — in particular, the translation product. It applies to multiple sectors, including the commercial and government sectors, and non-profit organizations.

It provides a framework for developing structured specifications for translation projects, but does not cover legally binding contracts between parties involved in a translation project. It addresses quality assurance and provides the basis for qualitative assessment, but does not provide procedures for quantitative measures of the quality of a translation product.

It is not applicable to interpreting services.