Testing localization

Getting a feature to work in a single language is usually a challenge, but usability must also consider working in different languages and geographies. Translation bugs can be critical blockers – recall the example from Chapter 7, Testing of Error Cases, of a hardware unit that couldn’t boot when set to Danish. An error in rendering one of the variables in the string caused a critical issue, and we loaded the strings so early in the boot sequence that we couldn’t even upgrade them. It needed emergency intervention to fix. So, don’t underestimate the importance of translations and testing them well, even though they come with challenges. As with usability testing in general, there are both subjective and objective aspects to testing localization.

Objectively, all strings must have translations in place that render correctly. Remember to include both successful cases and error messages in your testing. When manually testing translations...