How to Automate Localization Testing | Framework & Importance

Our world is imperfect and because we are human, mistakes are likely to happen no matter how we try to avoid them. Particularly, there's a big chance that your localization work will contain errors. Occasionally, there are minor issues like clerical errors or slightly strange translations. However, in other cases, these errors may prevent users from other nations from even using your product. Broken strings, unavailable language resources, and non-multilingual typefaces can all be quite annoying. 

Customers may intentionally be discouraged from appreciating what you've worked so hard to put out there by these nuances. Therefore, it's crucial to find these mistakes before they are released. Testing for localization and internationalization can help with this.

So, what is Localization Testing?

You're evaluating how effectively your user interface (UI), default language, time zone, currency, and other elements adhere to the usability and cultural norms of your new audience. This procedure, of course, depends on testers who examine your game, software, mobile application, and website. They evaluate usability and search for any instances where localization will fail. 

It is comparable to the quality assurance (QA) procedure used in software development, where testers are brought in to find faults in your program. Therefore, this procedure aids in ensuring that everything functions as planned for customers in your new market. Without it, your localization efforts run the danger of coming across as unauthentic at best and outright offensive or unsuitable at worst.

How to Automate Localization Testing?

Testing for localization can be sped up and can be made more precise by automating the entire process. While ensuring that the application or website is correctly localized for various languages and locales, localization testing can be automated to save time. To automate localization testing, take the following actions:

Localization Needs: It's crucial to be aware of the application or website's localization needs before beginning the automated process. This includes figuring out which dialects, regions, and particular features need to be examined.

Selecting Automation Tools: Testing for localization can be done using a variety of automation technologies. Selenium, Appium, and TestComplete are a few popular ones. Pick a tool that satisfies all of your requirements.

Test Cases: One has to create them for each language and location that need testing. These test cases ought to cover every feature of the website or application that needs to be tested.

Configuring Automation Tools: Set the automation tool up so that it can execute the test cases for each language and location. Ensure that the tool is configured to handle linguistically particular characters and formatting.

Implement the tests: Use the automation tool to run the tests for each language and region. Verify for any mistakes or problems that might have occurred during the testing procedure.

Rerun Tests: After the testing is finished, examine the findings and note any problems that require attention. Rerun the tests after fixing the problems to make sure everything is operating as it should.

You can use tools to assist with localization testing, however, these are often software testing tools with a localization capability. They weren't created with consideration for localization. Additionally, it would take several separate tools to test what you needed to test.

WeTest's services include localizing QA testing services which is a translation management system that enables you to integrate QA tests into your workflow. You can take charge of a few key elements of your localization testing procedure. 

Wrapping Up: 

This article focused on the topic of how to automate localization testing and the basic concepts of localization. Testing is just as laborious and involved as localization itself. Knowing where you stand, what has been accomplished, and who is working on what is helpful. Additionally, communication with your teams about testing is made simpler by having an integrated chat option. The correct TMS will also interface with the tools you employ to assist the design team in swiftly iterating and testing, for example, whether UX features will be consistent. It also facilitates the import and export of the data used by the development team.