Before launching a product, it is essential to perform localization testing, whether game localization testing, application or website, etc. Nobody wants to risk overlooking localization difficulties before launching or alienating consumers due to poor localization quality.
Discovering errors once a software product has already gone live is the worst nightmare of all businesses. Companies can save a lot of money, effort, and customer satisfaction by finding and fixing defects before launching. Looking at localization quality from all potential perspectives will help you prevent problems that might turn off your target audience if you intend for your software to operate in numerous marketplaces.
Localization testing aims to check a specific area’s language and cultural elements. It entails modifying the user interface or the default settings per the needs.
Numerous testers will repeat identical functions throughout this form of testing. They check for things like grammatical mistakes, cultural appropriateness of the user interface, typographical issues, etc.
Most localization testing is manual, particularly when language considerations are involved. Professional localization testers must conduct in-depth market research to be aware of every potential problem. They must then analyze the data in its totality, use it as if it were meant for end users, and develop in-depth test cases for the software.
Planning for localization testing from the outset is crucial in order to avoid any errors that can occur. You’ll be able to:
- Enable compliance. Testing your product for localization makes sure it complies with rules specific to the local market.
- Save time and money. Localization testing helps you avoid significant errors and avoid rework, thereby reducing higher overhead costs. However, it may include additional charges and time for remedies.
- Increase your user base by expanding into new markets with a fantastic locally tailored offering.
- Build user trust by demonstrating that quality assurance is essential to your product development process, that localization is important to you, and that you care about their experience.
- Reduce churn: The happier your users are with your product, the less probable they will leave.
What Is Localization Testing?
Ensuring that a particular product build (such as a game, mobile app, or website) operates as anticipated in every market and satisfies local users’ technical, linguistic, and cultural requirements – all that localization testing is about. It is planned rather than done on the fly and is done one language at a time. It takes place before the product launch.
However, once translation quality becomes a problem – typically after the software has already been launched – localization testing is usually given priority in software development. The ideal situation is the opposite: localization testing should be a key component of development, internationalization, and the localization plan from the beginning.
Any business aiming to grow worldwide risks difficulties if a localization testing procedure isn’t established, carried out, and up to par. After a product enters the market, localization problems can suddenly come out of nowhere, so it’s critical to identify and address them quickly.
How Does It Work?
A qualified native speaker carries out localization testing for the particular market where you want to assess the quality of the localization. The kind of localization testing they perform will determine what they look for.
Functional Localization Testing
Routine functional testing aims to determine whether the software is genuinely functioning. In other words, can a user use it to accomplish their goals? Testing for functional localization takes a step further: It also aims to answer the following query: “Does it work right now in this market?”
Functional localization testing typically focuses on user interface and localization-specific elements that can alter how users experience these functionalities because, in most circumstances, the functionalities of the original product stay the same in all of its localized versions.
It is vital to ensure the following during functional localization testing:
- There are no improper concatenations, broken strings, or placeholders.
- The correct language resources load.
- Every screen is easy for users to use and execute work on. For example, load times are quick enough to facilitate fast performance.
- The region’s hardware and software are compatible.
- The software shows the appropriate language for each region and uses appropriately adapted numerical formatting, etc.
- The software’s text boxes allow users to type in the information they need to do a task in their native tongue.
- Images display correctly, and fonts are rendered accurately.
- Users can access features that are available in that market or language.
- Buttons, hotkeys, and hyperlinks function as they should.
- Users have no problems using local payment options.
- Localization does not compromise accessibility.
The primary goal is to provide people with the kind of user experience they have grown to expect from other established competitors’ products.
Linguistic Localization Testing
In the context of translated software products, linguistic testing involves examining the level of text localization. Professional linguists who are native speakers of the target language typically conduct this kind of localization testing. Especially linguistic game testing is essential, as all the components should correspond.
Testing for linguistic localization seeks to provide answers to issues like:
- Terminology is utilized consistently across the user interface, website, and other texts.
- To native English speakers, the text should be read clearly and naturally.
- There should be no translation quality issues that can confuse or mislead users.
- The localization should perfectly translate abbreviations, acronyms, and common phrases while being linguistically accurate and idiomatic.
- The visuals should be representative of their culture and meaningful to the target language’s native speakers.
- The brand’s messaging and tone of voice are similar across all markets, including the target market.
Traditional functional tests can’t detect linguistic issues. Therefore you should use proofreaders and reviewers with solid credentials and expertise throughout the localization process, mainly if your localization employs a continuous approach.
Regional Localization Testing
- Local and cultural concerns always accompany testing for localization. For instance, that region’s data privacy laws should always be considered during localization testing.
- Local laws and ordinances, such as national tax rules affecting product prices globally, may impact localization.
- Cultural sensitivities are specific to the area, such as representations of ethnic groups, insulting or contentious pictures, and colors that may have particular connotations.
Final Thought
In conclusion, the success of localized software in international markets can be determined by how carefully planned and carried out the software localization testing procedure is. The highest level of linguistic and functional quality should always be the goal of localization testing to ensure a locally produced product that is culturally acceptable.
When localization testing is done correctly, the outcomes can give companies wanting to sell software products outside their native markets a competitive edge. Testing lowers the expense of rectifying errors after launch and lowers the possibility of localization issues harming the brand’s reputation.
You can improve the success of software localization by making thorough testing a key component of your localization strategy, investing time and resources in planning, research, and adaptation before localization begins, automating processes with cutting-edge localization technology, and maintaining appropriate linguistic resources