localization testing tips and tricks

If you have already encountered with the testing locations, it is certainly one of the first questions you asked yourself starting to work, sounded something like this: "What should I test? Because I do not know the language / languages. "And the truth is that?

In fact, the correctness of the translation - not the only thing that you should pay attention when testing sites. Yes, of course, very important that the text was the grammatically, syntactically and logically correct. But that's not enough for a good location. That is why this kind of work and attract testers.

So, a few words about what needs to know and that should draw the attention of the tester in the test sites.

1. Prepare a suitable test environment for testing applications

Depending on the implementation, the choice of language for web applications can be carried out both manually and on the basis of language and regional settings on your browser or operating system, and even on your geographic location. And if a manual selection of a language more or less clear, in other cases, you will have to show a little ingenuity, and is likely to have multiple test environments. The ideal option would be virtual machines with installed OS and other software related sites. When configuring these machines, try to keep most settings to their original state, because very few users are using a configuration different from the CDS. When you create a virtual machine, is guided by the average statistical portrait of your end user, in order to imagine what software can be installed on its PCs. Why do it? The fact that some programs could seriously affect the final result of testing, and, accordingly, to get you to make false conclusions. For example, PC with MS Office 2003 and MS Office 2007 will behave differently in terms of working with a localized product, since the installation of MS Office 2007 includes the font Arial Unicode, which includes the inscription of characters overwhelming majority of world languages ??(in including Chinese and Japanese characters), but in the MS Office 2003 is not such a font.

2. Follow the correct translation

In my opinion, validation of the translation should always carry a person who is a native speaker or professional translator, or at least, people familiar with the language. All the rest of the evil one. But still, it is believed that such tests should exercise and a tester, even if he has no idea about the language. In such cases the Board to use electronic translators and dictionaries, not one but several at once, which will compare the results of translation and can make correct conclusions about its correctness.

In general, even if you have decided on such an adventure, try not too hold to, in fact, most likely, a professional translation interface, which, believe me, makes it more adequate translation than electronic translators.

3. Be the application "for you"

Before embarking on testing web applications in an unknown language to you, try to learn it so that you can move on it almost blindly. Read the basic functionality in the version of localization, the language you understand. This will save a lot of time, because you do not have to guess which may cause one or another link, or what the consequences will be pressing some buttons.

4. Begin testing with static elements

First of all, try to check the label on the static elements of the site: the block header explaining the inscriptions, etc., on them the user will pay attention at first.

By checking these items, do not forget that the length of one and the same text in different languages ??may differ materially. This is especially true if you checked the localization of the product for which the "native" language is English, because, as you know, when translating from English into any other text length increases by about 30%. Accordingly, try to make sure that all required inscriptions found a place in the markup of your site.

5. Pay attention to the controls, and error messages

Once the static elements will be finished, proceed to the rest of the control of your site: buttons, menus, etc. Remember that depending on the implementation, localization controls can be defined in the code, and may depend on your browser settings or OS.

Do not forget about error messages. Plan testing and compose test cases so that the maximum number of test error messages. Programmers are somehow paying very little attention to such things, because of which a significant part of the error messages may never entered into a localized version or be translated into appropriate language, or be totally unreadable because of problems with the encoding.

6. Ensure that data entry can be done in terms of localization

If the tested Web application involves the implementation of any data the user, be sure that users can enter data in terms of localization and all extended characters entered by the user and process the application correctly.

7. Do not forget the national and regional particularities

Another important point to which attention should be paid for testing - regional and national characteristics of the country, which is designed for localization. These features include the direction of the text, date formats, addresses, decimals, currency symbols, units of different quantities, etc. Always remember that good localization should be not only well-translated text, but an exact match cultural characteristics of people who speak the appropriate language.

I hope these simple tips will help you make your application more accessible and understandable for users of multi-lingual and multi-national World Wide Web.