What is a “Localization Testing Checklist”? Do I need one?
Localization testing is the procedure which assures the accuracy of translation within the context, as well as ensures that the application behaves as expected whether it is for desktop, mobile online distribution. Once the translated text is implemented in to the user interface, it is time for localization testers to take the application for a test drive and give it the “ready to go” approval.
The amount of time required for testing your product depends on the word count, number of dialog boxes/pages to review and also on the experience and knowledge of your localization engineers and testers. Similar to software QA, localization testing is a two step process where a tester files a defect and then verifies it after engineering addresses the issue. This two step process may need to be repeated many times, until all issues have been addressed or deferred to a future version.
The coverage of testing will depend based on your requirements and the depth of your localization effort. Always make sure to provide your testers with detailed instructions and test cases for the effort. There are cases where you may want to do ad-hoc testing, however, formal testing is a necessary step to ensure quality. Don’t forget, in localization QA, many different testers will repeat the same functions (as many as the number of languages you have). Unless you provide a test script, you won’t know if all of them tested the entire product or not.
Below is a sample localization checklist which will help you prepare your localization testing script:
| Pass | Fail | N/A | Notes | |
| Pre-localization Testing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background information about the product was provided to testers | ||||
| Glossaries are available for reference and consistency check | ||||
| Previously translated products are available for reference | ||||
| Regional Specification | ||||
| Date and time is properly formatted for target region | ||||
| Phone numbers formats are properly formatted for target region | ||||
| Colors are appropriate for the target market and express the desired message | ||||
| Licences and product names obey country specific regulations | ||||
| Provided phone numbers are accessible by the users in the target market | ||||
| Currency conversions and formats are handled properly | ||||
| Language | ||||
| Terminology is consistent across the UI, help files and documentation | ||||
| Text free of grammatical mistakes | ||||
| Text properly translated | ||||
| Text is free of character corruption | ||||
| Appearance/Layout | ||||
| Localized images are good quality | ||||
| Layout consistent with the source/English version | ||||
| Line breaks and hyphenation are proper | ||||
| Functionality | ||||
| Basic functionality test were performed on the localized application (provide test cases) | ||||
| Hyperlinks function properly | ||||
| Hot keys functional | ||||
| Entry fields support special characters | ||||
| Validation of fields work properly (e.g postal codes for target region) | ||||
| Lists are sorted according to target language and region | ||||
Also Under Localization Knowledge Center