Why Invest in Localization Quality Assurance (L10N QA)?

To QA or not to QA, that is the question…

With more than 6,500 languages spoken around the world, more and more companies are looking to tap into other markets by extending their global footprint. If you are still deciding whether you should go global, or are in the process of defining your localization needs, let me bring your attention to L10N QA. Whilst L10N QA is considered one of the last steps in the localization lifecycle, I would argue that it should in fact be one of the first processes to be defined. Not only does L10N QA dictate the level of linguistic quality delivered to your end user, as it consists of testing locale-specific content within the context of the actual product, it also shapes the customer experience by ensuring the product delivers to its required function and intended goals.

Effective communication is key to ensuring that the desired messaging and branding reaches your target audience. It is ironic how many companies focus largely on the wording (and rewording) of the original (source) content and will go to great lengths even delaying their release schedule to ensure their original content has the required tone, style, and wording, yet when it comes to content translation and localization, quality is the last thing on their mind.

If you have been around the localization industry as long as I have (16 years to be exact but who’s counting?!), you will quickly realize that internationalization, translation, and localization are usually the last items on the product owner’s list. Rarely is localization ever a part of the initial marketing and development strategy; it usually comes as an afterthought. As a result, folks in the industry often have to scramble at the last minute to somehow fit two or more weeks of work into a mere few days. Faced with unrealistic timelines, localization teams are strained and must now compensate for the lack of time and planning with a direct impact on deliveries and overall quality. Resources therefore have to work longer hours to ensure that they can deliver on time and meet requirements.

Before you venture into determining the level of L10N QA required on your product, or decide whether you even want to invest in L10N QA, let us quickly define what L10N QA is and why it is so important.

What is Localization Quality Assurance?

Several forms of review are performed within the localization lifecycle, including translation post-editing. Post-editing is usually performed using a translation management system. L10N QA is usually performed by a native-speaking linguistic specialist within the context of the actual product (i.e. document, software user interface, website, etc.) and focuses on the following:

• Internationalization Testing (I18N) – Also referred to as localization enabling testing, I18N testing involves performing numerous tests to ensure a product is localization ready. Testing includes:

o Pseudo-translations to check for hardcoded strings.
o Proper rendering of characters in different languages.
o Search feature functionality using language-specific characters.
o Input and proper rendering of user-supplied text.
o Ability to install/uninstall an application using a native language operating system and display of the correct user interface language.
o Accurate time/date display format, correct currency format, sorting, etc.

• Linguistic Translation Quality – While most translators work on text-only source content when translating into the required language—especially when working on a newly developed product—a linguistic specialist is able to review translations in-context to ensure they are accurate, effective, follow the correct style and tone, and are consistent with past and present translations.
• Functional Review – The focus here is on ensuring that the translated product functions correctly in comparison with the source product. This review includes the execution of test cases and scenarios to verify button functionality, working hyperlinks, hotkey function, observing proper output such as publishing or email notification, and more.
• Visual Review – This review focuses on ensuring the translated product conforms to the look, style, and feel of the source product. Content is reviewed to verify there is no truncated text due to language text expansion, non-translated text, improper word wrapping, character corruption, misalignment, incorrect or inconsistent font type, etc.

Why is Localization Quality Assurance Important?

For starters, the majority of users would love to use products that use the same language as their own “mother tongue”. Not only does that lend to one’s better understanding of a product, it also impacts the overall perception and customer experience. In the words of author Kate Zabriskie, “the customer’s perception is your reality.” How in that case will a consumer perceive a company or its product if their content translation is inaccurate, has numerous defects, does not function correctly or even worse, does not even exist in their language?

“Customers don’t just buy a product, they perceive the entire process as an experience or memory they recall when doing business with the company again. Customer Experience (CX) is the sum of all experiences and moments a company has before, after and while using a particular company’s product or service. It’s the customer’s perception of the brand.” (“How to Justify the Importance of Customer Experience (CX),” 2017).

While L10N QA may be perceived as costly, I would argue that it is indeed the difference maker between providing true quality and experience, versus something that will be forgotten tomorrow. In today’s fast-paced and competitive environment, ensuring quality products could be the difference between success and failure. Not only does good quality elevate the customer experience, it tends to reduce the support costs associated with the product. A seamlessly functioning high-quality product is less likely to require added customer support, while a badly functioning product will generate numerous consumer calls and increased support costs.

If you are looking for a bigger piece of the global market, take the following steps to ensure that your quality does not take a hit:

1. Plan ahead and do not let L10N QA be an afterthought! I cannot stress this enough: the importance of including L10N QA throughout your development lifecycle could be the difference between providing an excellent product or a subpar user experience.
2. If you are working with an external localization vendor or have a localization team in-house, be sure the linguistic QA specialists are hand selected to be your product champions. More experienced specialists are ones that understand your company’s goals, are familiar with your product vision, and can provide valuable input into the customer experience and how your global consumers may perceive it. They consider not only functionality and accuracy, but also cultural norms and consumer trends that are sure to give you the edge over your competitors in the global market.
3. Make sure your localization team has a solid plan for testing your product, collaborates with your development teams to quickly resolve defects in your code, and has the necessary personnel and technical resources (devices, product builds, and tools) to run real-life scenarios effectively.
4. Last but not least, make sure there is a consistent and complete communication loop between your translators and linguistic QA specialists. To avoid unnecessary cost increases, quality needs to be tracked and rated, and a feedback loop between QA and translation teams ensures improvement and progress over time.

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