There’s a very old (and, unfortunately, very true) saying in high tech that sometimes you have to shoot the developer before a product can be released to manufacturing. When developers change or add product functionality at the last minute, Tech Pub writers must scramble to update the documentation so that it doesn’t gate the release. When you consider that localization is taking place at the same time, the ripple effect of updating the documents can have international ramifications. Obviously, once documentation has been released for localization, early and minimal changes to that documentation can reduce your localization costs. But what if this is not possible?
The localization process often involves … Read More
As writers involved in localization know, it is common practice for 
With low overhead and relatively small startup costs, software companies continue to mushroom in the U.S. to provide thousands of applications to niche markets. Once successful at home, efforts are made to quickly expand globally to gain market share and increase revenues.
All companies selling internationally will sooner or later face the question of whether to localize their products and services, or not .
It is necessary to establish a localization methodology when creating international products, a strategy forged and followed in the partnership between SolidWorks Corp., a leading provider of mechanical CAD software tools on the Windows platforms, and GlobalVision International, Inc., a specialist in software localization and translation services.
Authoring For Localization
Localization often starts only after the source text is finished, leaving translators with no opportunity to improve the finished source. Working with the wrong localization partner can lead to a garbage-in, garbage-out scenario. This article- offered by a seasoned translator- attempts to proactively influence writers to improve documentation quality for all end-users, international and local. Having translated countless documents, she suggests that the following recommendations be taken into consideration.
Consistency, please!
Use consistent terminology to minimize user confusion, and save on translation research time. When referring to a specific term or software GUI item, use the same wording throughout the documentation and between the GUI and documentation. Review the entire … Read More