Localization Quality Assurance

Localization Quality Assurance (LQA) is the thorough process of reviewing translated content within its real digital environment, such as websites, apps, or software, to ensure that all content not only looks correct but also matches the functionalities described.

This includes verifying that the content displays as intended, fits the UI, and interacts properly, providing users across different languages with a consistent, intuitive, and user-friendly experience.

🤔 What does Localization QA involve? #️⃣

Localization QA takes into consideration multiple elements, including the translated texts, but not only. It involves testing the localized content in the real context where users will see and interact with it.

This includes:

• Ensuring that translated text fits properly without overflowing or breaking the design.
• Making sure links, buttons, and interactive elements work correctly in every language version.
• Spotting any untranslated or hardcoded strings that might appear in the wrong language, or not at all.
• Confirming that dates, numbers, currencies, and other localized data display in the right regional format.
• Preventing problems like garbled characters or symbols that don’t display correctly.
• Usually done in staging or preview versions of the product, to simulate the real user experience.

⁉️ How is Localization QA different from Linguistic QA? #️⃣

It’s important to understand that LQA is different from Linguistic Quality Assurance. While linguistic QA focuses mainly on the accuracy and style of the language itself, Localization Quality Assurance is about how those translations fit and function within the product as a whole.

• 📝 Linguistic QA focuses on the quality of the language itself-checking grammar, spelling, terminology, and style.
• 📲 Localization QA focuses on how the translated content fits into the product-checking usability, appearance, and technical functionality.

While linguistic checks may be part of the LQA process, the main goal of LQA is to ensure the product feels natural and works perfectly for users in every language, not just that the content is correct.

Localization quality hinges on the small details, and Localization QA is one of the final and most necessary processes in achieving high-quality localization with minimal mistakes.