Imagine this: you developed an application and then released it in several languages ββat once. But after the release, you found errors in different language versions:
developer's worst nightmare. So that's exactly what localization testing is for, to avoid such unpleasant situations.
Today, the US is no longer the largest player in the mobile app market. China and India compete for the title . And today it is necessary, and even more than once, to check all language versions before release. After all, the price of even a tiny mistake can be very high.
As a rule, development companies do not immediately think about localization testing. And yet this process must be included in the development. Let's take a closer look at what localization testing is, what important steps it includes, and why it is needed at all.
What is localization testing?
In short, localization testing is checking the content of an application or site for compliance with linguistic, cultural requirements, as well as the specifics of a particular country or region.
Localization testing is one type of quality control that is carried out during product development. This type of testing helps to find bugs or translation errors in the localized version before the final product reaches the user. The purpose of testing is to find and eliminate bugs in various localized versions of the product intended for different markets and locales.
It is important to note that localization is not just translation into several languages, and localization and linguistic testing are not the same thing. How is localization testing different from linguistic testing? Linguistic testing mainly consists of checking for spelling, grammatical and stylistic errors. And localization testing also includes checking time and currency formats, graphics, icons, photos, color schemes, and a dozen other tiny details.
Why is localization testing so important?
The main task of testing is to ensure that the product looks like it was originally created in the language of the target audience and is fully consistent with cultural and regional characteristics.
Localization increases customer loyalty to your brand. Here are the specific numbers: prefer to shop on sites in their native language. Even those who speak English well still .
Localization testing ensures the highest quality of applications and sites in the global market. Let's imagine the following situation: you have created an application and plan to release it in English, Russian and German versions. You have hired the best translators, so you are 100% sure of the correct spelling and grammar. But all of a sudden you find that the length of the German strings exceeds the character limit for some of the buttons in the app, or the time and date formats on the site do not match the region. Localization testing exists just to prevent such situations, because problems can arise with translated content even when the texts are grammatically correct. If you want your app or site to look native, pay due attention to the context and subtleties of the local culture.
What should I pay attention to during localization testing?
Localization testing is far from just checking spelling, grammar, and translation correctness. In order not to miss anything in this process, we have made a checklist of the most important things. So let's get started.
Preparatory stage
In order for localization testing to go smoothly, you need to prepare for it.
- Prepare for testers the necessary documentation and all the information about the site or product that will be useful.
- Create a glossary and translation memory to help testers interpret the terms used correctly.
- If the app or site has been translated before, please attach previous versions for reference. You can also use specialized services or databases to store all translation versions and organize access to them.
- Create a bug tracker - a document or platform where you will fix all the bugs found during localization testing. This makes it easier to control bug fixes and communicate with the rest of the team.
Checking regional and cultural characteristics
This is a very important step in localization testing. You will need screenshots or a localized build of the application. You need to check the following:
- Matches the date and time format to the selected region.
- Formats for phone numbers and addresses.
- Color schemes (this is important as the same color can have different meanings in different cultures). For example, symbolizes good luck in Western countries, but in Asian culture it is associated with mourning.
- Compliance of product names with regional standards.
- Currency format.
- Units.
Linguistic check
At this stage, language features are checked. You need to make sure that:
- All site pages or application screens use the same terminology.
- There are no grammatical errors.
- There are no spelling errors.
- Punctuation rules followed.
- The correct text direction is used (right to left or left to right).
- The correct names of brands, cities, places, positions, etc. are indicated.
User interface or appearance
This is necessary in order for your software product to look perfect in any language. Be sure to check the following:
- All text inscriptions on the pictures are localized.
- The layout of the language versions is the same as the original.
- Line breaks and line breaks on pages/screens are placed correctly.
- Dialogs, pop-ups and notifications are displayed correctly.
- The length of the lines does not exceed the existing limits and the text is displayed correctly (sometimes the translated text is longer than the original and does not fit on the buttons).
Example
The Alconost team encountered one such case while working with and their Blazing Chrome game. In the Spanish version, the number of characters in the button text translation exceeded the limit for them. The word "Next" was too long in Spanish: "Siguiente". The Alconost team found this error during localization testing and suggested replacing "Siguiente" with "Seguir" in order to display correctly in the interface. It is through the detection of such problems and their elimination that the interface of the software product and the effectiveness of user interaction improve.
Functionality
This is one of the final and most important stages when you need to check whether the localized application works correctly. We advise you to pay attention to the following:
- The functionality of a localized application or site.
- H=Hyperlinks (make sure they work in all language versions, are legal for the specified region, and won't be blocked by local or regional firewalls).
- The work of introductory functions.
- Support for special characters for various locales and languages.
- Keyboard shortcuts work.
- List sorting function.
- Support for various fonts.
- Support for various format delimiters.
What difficulties can arise during localization testing?
The process of localization testing comes with its own problems and pitfalls, and it is better to know about them in advance. After all, even a well-known proverb says: "Forewarned is forearmed."
One of the main difficulties is insufficient knowledge of the target language. Naturally, it is impossible to know all the languages ββof the world. But there are localization, internationalization and translation companies. For example, Alconost offers its customers a full range of services for . Localized texts are always additionally checked by native translators, who also have extensive experience in localization testing. And you can be 99,99% sure that all regional features will be taken into account.
Another point that can significantly complicate localization testing is poor product knowledge. This often becomes a problem if the product is niche. Localization agencies usually have experience in various fields and know that the team needs to study the product in advance and ask the client all the necessary questions in order to fully understand the meaning of the product.
Also keep in mind that localization testing can be quite long process, as it takes time to study the characteristics of various regions. To simplify this process and meet deadlines, we recommend integrating the localization quality control stage into the development lifecycle. Make the localization testing process continuous: translate new strings as soon as they appear and test immediately. If you plan localization testing in advance, it will help to release the product on time.
Last but not least, companies often forget to create a document or account on a cloud platform to track all bugs during localization testing. Without this, you can end up βlosingβ some of the errors or, worse, forgetting to fix them. Therefore, a clear mechanism is needed to keep records of the detection and elimination of errors.
Need help with localization/translation? β We at Alconost are always happy to help!
About Us
Alconost is professionally engaged , in over 70 languages. Linguistic testing, cloud platform with API, continuous localization, 24/7 project management, any format of string resources.
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Source: habr.com