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Enablement Testing in Globalization

Enablement Testing in Globalization

Back in the days, when an app was being considered for globalization, two sets of testing were mainly accounted for – internationalization testing and localization testing. Under internationalization, formats (such as date, currency) were tested for, for readiness to be converted to another locale, pseudo localization where localization is attempted in a specific language such as German or even with garbage characters to again check for localization readiness, were considered. Under localization, a lot more in terms of testing across locales, covering both UI and functionality are accounted for. Translation testing covering both the translation correctness and linguistic cultural checks are also being taken up. So, where really does not enablement testing fit in the picture? As the name suggests enablement testing is part of the internationalization test efforts as the team gets ready for localization. It has become increasingly important off late with the varied ways in which a program accepts inputs. Earlier on, the inputs would primarily come in from a keyboard, whereas, off late, keyboard is one of the many ways in which the user provides his inputs to the system – the others being, touch screen devices, voice input, hand writing, gestures, sliding, swift keys etc. All of these need to be accounted for in the input method editor (IME) testing segment. This has its own challenges depending on the locale that is being tested, the font types etc. For example, while “:)” indicates a smiley in left to right languages, the same may mean nothing or completely different in a right to left language. Additionally, the devices from which the inputs come in bring in their own nuances, around ligatures, numbers, digits, special characters etc. And it is important to take this up every time there is a product architectural change, new features, OS support or locale support are added. This testing is however not as easy as it sounds. It has its own challenges around digits, fonts, forms, linguistic features, logos and symbols etc. For example, ligature in symbols such as CNN, pose very specific challenges in IME testing.

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Is Localization Testing a Vertical or a Horizontal

Localization is a very broad category in the world of software engineering. This category is becoming broader by the day, with global product / app releases along with Agile cycles of development, necessitating quick releases of not just the core English versions of software but also the localized versions. When the traditional waterfall development methodologies were more prevalent, it was almost a no brainer that localization and localization testing was a horizontal activity in the engineering spectrum. The localization team would come in after core English testing has been completed to test for localization functionality and rendering. However, with the product development characteristics around Agile such as faster iterations, demonstrable software, simultaneous global releases, and localization testers have increasingly become vertically attached to a given team. They are involved in the development efforts right from the get go on par with the core English testers. They are evolving their testing practices with newer strategies such as creating localization string files upfront, retro fitting them into the product later on etc. Given these time constraints and the activities they have on their plate that occupy them throughout the Agile release cycle, they are not as available to be shared across projects as before. However, they are not fully vertical as yet. There is still scope to group localization projects and testers, based on specific parameters such as mobile localization testing efforts, domain based localization testing efforts, specific locale specialized testers etc. Such groups bring in better efficiencies and scale in the tester operations. At QA InfoTech, we have a pseudo team called the RDT, Rapid Deployment Team, with testers from hand-picked cross product teams. They are horizontal at most times being shared across projects, but also have the scale to be vertical if a specific project needs the focus. Such flexibility, makes them localization test specialists, with the required versatility also giving them time to focus on newer practices, tools and technologies without being fully tied to a give project.