| Localization Engineering Consulting Solutions
Have you found yourself frustrated by turnaround time when localizing software strings? Are you struggling with multiple file formats, encoding issues, and engineering resources authored with incompatible systems? Are you frustrated by attempts to move towards efficient configuration management?
Engineering consulting can answer all of these problems by addressing two main areas:
- Internationalization ensures that you write software so it can be localized more efficiently.
- Localization process development finds the best way for you to get your software assets localized.
Internationalization (i18n)
Internationalization uncovers potential obstacles in code development that impede the localization process. Internationalization consulting can help you:
- Address critical issues with international functionality during the design phase, avoiding costly remedial measures during localization.
- Choose and implement a character encoding system that best fits your technical requirements and target markets, (e.g. UTF-8 or UTF-16)
- Support multi-byte representations for Asian languages.
- Balance application performance with the cost of localization and the needs of an international market.
- Reduce localization costs by implementing localization-friendly string storage and delivery systems.
- Implement robust content management, or take the first steps towards such a solution.
- Optimize a core UI design to reduce the per-language costs of UI reformatting.
Actual customer success story:
A large social-connectivity web site began the localization process with ENLASO. They were submitting HTML pages created in a variety of formats (PHP, ASP, ColdFusion.) With so many file formats and limitations from the string storage choices made by the customer, leveraging translated strings during content update cycles was difficult.
One of the client’s goals for the internationalization/localization process development work was to modify content in very small chunks. This is a major challenge for the “traditional” localization process. The traditional method, involving co-mingled strings and content, requires one of two things:
- resubmission and "from scratch" leveraging of updated source (high translation cost since leveraging of unchanged strings is never perfect), or
- using manual methods to find the differences in code-level changes in previously translated files, followed by targeted translation of updated material.
Both methods are less-than-desirable from a cost and quality standpoint.
To address these limitations, an approach using resourced (as in separating functionality and formatting from content) string content in XML format allows the client to send out smaller chunks more often while avoiding the limitations of the traditional localization methods.
Upon ENLASO's advice, this customer developed a simple, efficient string resource integration system, which enabled them to swiftly assemble localized web pages using resourced string content.
Localization process development
ENLASO advises customers on techniques that facilitate the localization process, such as devising custom solutions for unique project requirements and optimizing the application of localization best practices to meet specific customer needs. In short, ENLASO analyzes the customer's development process, and determines what is costing them money, quality and turnaround time during localization. ENLASO is often able to provide effective process alternatives that remedy the identified challenges.
Actual customer success story:
A customer with a database software solution had an enormous amount of software strings, from different development groups, to localize. The customer started out by giving ENLASO large text dumps of all possible files. This particular customer was storing everything in a single database.
We found that the customer was going through unnecessary steps to provide us with content in formats that required extra time and effort to localize. ENLASO worked as a development partner, and obtained visibility with the customer’s internal developers. We determined that the best solution in this instance was to receive all data in simple tab-delimited format. This reduced client cost for engineering work dramatically. During this collaboration, our team was also able to identify source content redundancies that permitted a seven-fold reduction in the number of translatable strings.
ENLASO further developed a solution that enabled daily updates of the software strings. This was done by automating the entire post-process phase of string localization. Using a command line interface in our post-processing software, Rainbow, we were able to automate structural quality assurance and post-processing steps at the end of each day of linguistic testing. PERL scripts checked all files for encoding, formatting, and other potential issues. Successfully localized files were automatically uploaded to the FTP server, via automated scripts, with automatic e-mail notification to appropriate team members. This “hands-off” work took place after business hours, substantially cutting translation labor hours, turn around time, and costs. As a result, the customer was able to achieve a very aggressive delivery schedule with nearly continuous visibility into the functional and linguistic quality status of their product.
Summary
Contact ENLASO today to find out how we can help you with your engineering challenges and discover how you can write optimal code for global markets. Empower your developers to have a full grasp of best practices in internationalization and localization process development.
ENLASO's Localization Engineering Consulting Solutions
For more information about our Localization Engineering Consulting Solutions, please contact Chris Raulf at marketing@translate.com, call 303 516 0857 x103, or complete the quote request form.
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