Situation – Analyze over 16,000 files across 18 languages

One of PTIGlobal’s mobile app localization customers maintains large sets of files that must be analyzed for conformance to pre-defined specs logged in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The timeline is generally short and the tolerance for mistakes in their final products is very low. PTIGlobal’s team is responsible for the quality of the 18 languages in which this product is released. We take product quality and our role as localization quality experts very seriously, so we had to ensure that the task would be completed the PTIGlobal way.

When you are faced with the daunting task of analyzing over 16,000 files across 18 languages to ensure they adhere to pre-defined specifications, you might be tempted to roll up your sleeves, get an extra-large cup of coffee – or many – and prepare for a lengthy period of grunt work. Keep the idea about that extra-large cup of coffee, but, as our team did, spare your mouse and keyboard the abuse.

Analysis – What localization QA grunt work looks like

The problem analysis was quite simple. To manually tackle this type of task means that we must:

• Align up to 18 resources to spend between seven and eight hours
• Coordinate questions from those resources to ensure the expected outcome is clear
• Ensure that the task scheduling can be conducted in a manner that guarantees a timely delivery
• Review incoming work for issues and provide clarifying answers
• Aggregate feedback into a single file set, then package and submit them for further processing
• Oh, and did we mention the management of countless emails to make sure everybody is on the same page

Solution – How localization QA grunt work is tackled the PTIGlobal way

In the age of Netflix and other streaming services and the related practice of binge watching, your brain may be accustomed to mundane stimulation, but for our team that borders on torture and is only occasionally acceptable. To tackle a task that would otherwise require about 135 person-hours and had to be completed in one to two days, we quickly realized that an automated solution was necessary.

Given that this task would arise more than once, it made sense to spend the time to develop and test a customized automated tool that would streamline the task for us. The automation extracts data such as audio runtime and bitrate along with the associated language, then compares those and other desired parameters against the specifications in Excel. It then updates those specifications automatically and pinpoints areas of possible concern for human intervention. The overall time to produce the desired output was drastically dropped to a mere 14 hours. Because this is not a highly repetitive process at this point and the fact that the final list of automatically identified issues must be validated, some human interaction is still required. The remaining manual labor is split between multiple resources to complete the work in two days.

Localization QA Automation Results

PTIGlobal’s implemented solution helps the client realize a drastically increased turnaround with a significantly reduced cost impact. The solution allows our customer to consistently add a feedback loop during the production cycle at a much earlier stage to discover possible issues and ensure a tighter overall production timeline. This alleviates any last-minute surprises near the end of production and the ultimately anticipated release date.

Conclusion

PTIGlobal consultants can work with you to define and develop customized technical solutions to your localization challenges. A partnership with us can provide you with higher-quality content earlier in your development and improve your ability to release your products on schedule globally.

To learn more about how PTIGlobal can help transform your global content strategy, call us at +1 503-906-6512 or email us at getstarted@ptiglobal.com.