While each localization program may have its particular goals and KPIs, they always, one way or another, point to a seamless adaptation of a product / service / delivery / brand into the cultural, linguistic, legal and technical environment of the target market.

The ultimate goal is always to achieve the impact of the localized content that is comparable to the content originally developed in the target locale. In other words, when done the right way, localization is invisible – if the end user can notice that it has been performed, something is not quite right.

And when we take that goal of localization invisibility as our starting point and take a step or two backwards, it is becoming easier to crunch all our experience and get to the essence of what makes the localization process an error-proof experience that generates the desired results.

Localization after the Pandemic

At the same time, in the post-covid world of 2021 characterized by the ongoing content explosion, increasing digitalization and globalization of business operations, localization processes need to be far more agile, faster and integrated than ever before. They need to be remodeled, reimagined and recontextualized to answer the increasing globalization demands.

To achieve this, we need to have a clear understanding of what a localization actually is at its core and why do we do it in the first place.

While localization has always been critical in the sense that it enabled the smooth performance of marketing and sales activities on the international markets, it has always been a background process that, while achieving its main goal of invisibility, more often than not also managed to hide its true colours, which led to localization often being misidentified as a nuisance and a little more than a cost factor.

It took the content explosion and the digital transformation accelerated by the global pandemic to restore localization to its rightful position of a major business driver in the digitally transformed word.

The 3 Pillars of Localization Process

There are many pains related to translation and localization – from purely linguistic issues such as inaccurate and awkward translation or wrong terminology, to purely commercial and technical issues such as high costs, long turnaround times and incompatibility of the localized content with the existing infrastructure, and the remedies to all of these pains are to be found in the process itself.

As I have mentioned above, every project is a separate universe, but it all actually boils to 3 pillars of successful localization process: People, Context and Technology.

Click to view the 3 Pillars of Successful Localization Process Infographic

People – Because localization is an activity that requires bursts of work by a relatively high number of people from very different locations, and the ultimate success of a localization program depends upon the knowledge, agility and dedication of the people driving the process.

While we use all kinds of digital wizardry to make our work easier, leaner and faster, it is ultimately the human knowledge that powers the localization machine, all the way from content production to its release to the end-users.

Context – Because knowing the type, the medium and the target audiences of the content to be localized is essential for the localization program success as it dictates how the process will be performed.

Focusing on the buyer-side enterprise programs can often result in a black box or dump over the fence reality that is of disservice to both sides, where buyer lacks the understanding, oversight and quality control while the supplier struggles to meet the quality expectations.

Successful companies don’t mind getting their hands dirty because they know they need to apply the global first approach, which means that the traditional waterfall model where localization is the last to happen simply does not work anymore.

Localization is back where it should have been all along – in the product/content development phase.

Successful companies are also aware of the existence of content silos and that localization may sit in many business functions such as marketing, regulatory, UX, CX, customer support, product management etc., and that requires a shift to more automated, cross-functional, agile localization programs.

They are also aware that they will achieve best results, better scalability and higher output quality only if they provide suppliers with the proper information and guidelines and view them as their strategic partners.

Technology – Because localization for the international markets requires technical skills, robust workflows and technological infrastructure that can meet the business requirements.

The real magic comes from the interaction between the human mind and the machines.

Technology enables leveraging access to in-country localization specialists and digital translation assets that enable productivity boost and process automation.

In addition, smart application of technology enables all stakeholders to make better and more informed decisions and improve tracking and management of localization KPIs such as quality, time to market etc.

Stay tuned for The 3 Main Benefits of Localization article coming next week.

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This localization method emphasizes continuous communication among the team members and generating new ideas that could improve the entire workflow. It is also very important to warn each other about the possible problems or pitfalls of the process.

Time management

Since this is an ongoing method that requires regular changes and updates, there is no much room for work-around solutions, which are not sustainable to begin with. They only serve as a quick runaway from the situation.

The best way to avoid problems is a better time management. Be sure to always measure how much time you spend on certain phases of the project and try to adjust the workflow accordingly.

Toss the unnecessary

During the localization process, we often don’t think about the necessity of every piece of content so we localize everything, even though a lot of it could be unimportant. That’s why we need to define what we don’t need and then toss it away so we don’t lose time and resources on something no one will ever use.

In order to do that, we need to analyze the market as well as the needs and desires of our customers – what do they use, how they use it and in what languages. It’s crucial to get rid of the localization waste.

Recycle

Recycling is extremely important in the localization world as much as it is in nature and environment. Translation assets are the storage lockers of the language industry where we can find translation memories and termbases. They can be created for specific projects and language pairs. Reusing the already translated material reduces the time needed for translation of the new material, which is, for sure, the most important feature of agile localization.

Automatize

Even though the copy-paste method sometimes may seem like the most efficient one, in most situation, it is not the case. There are number of ways to automatize the localization process, and one of the best examples is website localization. That process can be sped up and automatized using some of the many CMS plug-ins for which can be integrated with CAT tools.

Ciklopea has localized its website to three languages using WMPL plug-in for WordPress, which was then connected to Memsource. The biggest benefit here is that it is possible to set up only one project, define as many target languages as you want and send it for translation in just a few clicks.

This is just one of the many examples of process automation, even though there are many more. We just need to think outside of the box.

Conclusion

Agile localization may sound like a mission impossible, but it is actually all about good communication and work organization. It’s important to set up and define clear goals and tasks for each team member who will then send periodical reports to others about the phase they’re currently working on.

After each phase, the product has to be tested and these tests should be carried out regularly so we could be sure that we have the best possible solution in every moment.

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Our localization requirements have been steadily increasing since the early days and currently include translation of several home and business products, as well as the accompanying documentation and help resources. Since ESET upgrades its products to new versions once a year and performs minor tweaks throughout the products’ lifetime, localization is performed in short, irregular cycles that can last anywhere between a week and a few months.

Localization of ESET software is performed as a part of the software development process, i.e. the new strings are localized as soon as they are updated. It is a typical agile localization workflow that requires fast response, good coordination and short turnaround times.

Translation and proofreading are performed by the linguist team in specific CAT tools (SDL Pasolo, SDL Trados Studio and/or MemoQ, depending on the type of documentation), in accordance with the previously translated and approved elements that are used as the master translation memory (TM).

In addition to the TM, the client-approved Termbase and Style Guide are consulted during all translation projects. The translated and proofread files are then sent to the local distributor (Nort ltd.) for review and approval.

Client review is an essential part of the localization process, one of the reasons being that our technical support experts are in a better position to determine whether a highly specific term requires translation, which often comes across as awkward, or should be left alone. Every time a new localized build – software version – becomes available, our technical support experts perform thorough tests on multiple operating systems and make sure that the translation is in order. Any errors or omissions are immediately reported and corrected.

This process is now streamlined and the application of corrections to the localized software takes up a couple of days at the most.

Our clients have a say in the matter as well – if we learn that the users aren’t quite clear about what a certain program function does or how to interpret our localized help resources, we take steps to clarify the translation.

IT security is a sensitive matter, and users certainly don’t want to see a localized IT security product with an interface that is difficult to understand. The same goes for all communication in local language with the clients, including license e-mails, program installation and setup instructions, and renewal reminders.

In addition to enabling the clients who feel more comfortable with their native tongue to use our products, localization does one more important thing: it demonstrates our willingness to allocate resources in order to make the products more accessible to the end user. This goes a long way towards building client confidence in the product.

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