[IxDA Discuss] Books for localization

[Daniel Szuc]

Hi:

Perhaps we can explore what we want to see in a book/resource on
"localization"?

For many companies, localization = translation of copy (no much more) e.g.
web site and little work is done to truly understand a local context.  So
quick thoughts to get the ball rolling:

1. What differences are you looking for in a target market?

2. How do you work with a local team to help you find answers?

3. What research tools do you want to use in a target market?

4. How do you source a local research/usability company to assist you find
the answers? (what questions do you have for them?)

5. What investment are you willing to make to find answers? One study per
year, long term research etc (how will it impact your product longer term)

6. How do you think your product may be used differently in that market?
(what concerns do you have currently?)

7. What can you learn from like products who have launched products in that
market? (what have they learnt?)

8. What adjustments, if any, do we need to make to research tools (if any)
in a target market to get the results we need?

9. How will your translate research findings in a target market into
actionable design decisions (to help drive the strategic direction)

10. How do you test your business model before a full scale launch of a
product?

11. How do you build up a local team to help you find the answers? (and roll
up into a larger design/usability strategy)

A good listen - http://www.uxpod.com/index.php?post_id=214236#

More food for thought - "We are more alike than we think" -
http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000080.php

Last one ... What products do we know of today (well known) that have made
drastic design changes to accommodate culture (based on research) and what
can we learn from that? I expect there are more consistent Design
Patterns/Approaches/molds for well known products across different
countries, rather than differences.

Rgds,

Daniel Szuc
Principal Usability Consultant
Apogee Usability Asia Ltd
www.apogeehk.com
'Usability in Asia'

The Usability Kit - http://www.theusabilitykit.com

-----Original Message-----
From: discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:
discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Bill Fernandez
Sent: Tuesday, 10 July 2007 1:27 AM
To: Liya Zheng
Cc: discuss at ixda.org
Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Books for localization

Liya--

The National Language Technical Center at IBM used to publish a series of
reference works called The National Language Design Guide.

volume 1 (IBM part number SE09-8001-01), Designing Enabled Products This
deals with general concepts and technical issues.

volume 2 (IBM part number SE09-8002-01), National Language Support Reference
Manual This has lots of technical information such as currencies, character
sets, date formatting, etc. for various languages.

volume 3 (IBM part number SE09-8003-00), Arabic Script

volume 4 (IBM part number SE09-8004-00), Hebrew

The editions I have of volumes 1 and 2 were published in 1991 and
1994 respectively.  I imagine that if they are still publishing their
content may be available somewhere on the IBM website.

I also remember having at one time a book of common computer UI terms (such
as "delete", "print", etc.) translated into a number of languages.  I
thought it was also by IBM, but I couldn't find my copy to confirm this.

--Bill







At 9:54 AM -0400 7/9/07, Liya Zheng wrote:
>Hello,
>
>My team is looking for materials to help us with upcoming localization
>projects. We will be localizing (not translating) software and web
>products designed and developed in the U.S. to other countries, with
>Japan being the first in our plans. I've been doing quite a bit of
>research online and found a few websites that are mildly useful.
>Recently, I heard about these two books off the U-Test discussion list
>and would love to hear your opinion on them if you've read them:

-- 

======================================================================
Bill Fernandez  *  User Interface Architect  *  Bill Fernandez Design

(505) 346-3080  *  bf_list1 AT billfernandez DOT com  *
http://billfernandez.com======================================================================
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