By Hagen Weiss
High-quality localization is more than just accurate word-for-word translation. It must take into account context as well as societal norms.
Case in point, KFC’s widely famous slogan, “Finger-lickn’ good.” When KFC opened its doors in China, the slogan was translated to “Eat your fingers off.” Probably not the message you want to be sent to customers.
So how do you ensure you get high-quality localization for your software, app, or gaming platform? Below, we’ll explore a few methods to ensure you’ve got the highest quality localization possible.
1. User-Based Localization Surveys
Send out a survey to your customers to evaluate the quality. You can divide your survey into different elements of your product (i.e. user interface, dialogues, newsfeeds, etc.). Offering a free reward, such as in-game premium currency for a gaming application, will give incentive for users to fill out the survey.
Pros: Feedback from users can be extremely valuable. They are the ones paying for the service, so their feedback is generally genuine and honest.
Cons: While genuine and honest, users can still be biased in their reviews. They may use the survey as an opportunity to vent about the game itself, rather than the localization quality. Always take user-based surveys with a grain of salt.
2. Internal High Quality Localization QA
Another option is to hire an in-house proofreader and localization tester. This person would be responsible for checking the quality, context, and aesthetics of the translation.
Pros: Hiring internally allows you to work closely with the tester. Quality standards can be high since an internal hire would understand company standards and protocols.
There is also the benefit of a division of labor and accountability. Using translators to proofread each other’s work can cause ‘translator fatigue,’ resulting in translators rushing to get the job done. Having a dedicated QA tester maintains the integrity of the QA process, as well as allowing for an accountability system for when quality issues do arise.
Cons: The main disadvantage of hiring internally is cost. Salaries and benefits can add up quickly. There is also a risk of making the wrong hire. An unqualified proofreader or tester could cost your company both time and money if appropriate screening procedures were not in place.
3. External High Quality Localization QA
Similar to an internal localization QA hire, but this time it is external to your company. This might mean a permanent or on-demand hire through either freelancers or an agency.
Pros: You can avoid the high cost of having someone on your payroll. Moreover, you have the option to hire only when you require the services. Agencies, in particular, tend to offer high-quality services.
Cons: You’ll need to spend a bit more time and effort to manage external hires. If you have in-house CAT tools, you’ll need to spend some time training as well.
4. Community Manager or Customer Service Feedback
Tapping into your community manager or customer service department can be a goldmine of valuable information. Typically a community manager will keep an ear to the ground in a variety of online forums or platforms.
Pros: You can glean a lot of information about how users perceive localization quality in your product through online forums, social media, review sites, etc. Your community manager or customer service department can collect this feedback to further improve QA issues that may be missed by the team.
Cons: As with the surveys, you’ll need to filter out the noise from actual localization QA feedback. Users can spew out a whole variety of complaints, none actually relevant to the localization quality.
5. Audit
Getting a localization QA audit done is a great way to identify areas of improvement in your product. It will give you an objective assessment of localization quality issues so you can better improve user experience.
Pros: Before pouring resources into your product, you first need to identify areas of weakness. An audit is the first step into formulating a plan on how to better tweak your product for your customers.
Cons: Many agencies do not offer auditing services. For those that do, the cost of an audit can be extremely high.
iGlobe: Get Your Free LocQA Audit
Not only does iGlobe offer LocQA auditing services, but we also offer it for free of charge! Our team of professional LocQA testers will help you identify problem areas in your translations. If you’re looking to improve the quality of your product, contact us today.
E-mail: hello@iglobe.ca
Tel：+1 604 355 3023