Expand to new markets with confidence. Reach and engage a global audience through flawless local versions of your software solutions.
Get a consultationOur specialists become full-fledged members of the clients’ teams soon after they join the projects. Each QA expert is as dedicated to your goals as you are. Our average retention on the QA software testing project is 3.5 years. Many clients have been working with our dedicated QA experts far more than that, and many choose to return with their new projects.
It is critical to run globalization and localization testing when a company launches products in different countries. The task of a QA team is to verify that the software is built correctly to support different locales and that all aspects of a target locale have been addressed. Globalization and localization testing are not the opposite or contradicting processes. They are two components of the same software inspection, looking into its different aspects. Globalization focuses on more general functional and non-functional characteristics of the software, while localization assesses each specific regional version built upon this foundation.
The scope of localization testing spans from editing in-app hyperlinks to checking compliance with local legal requirements and testing on devices used in a particular area. The purpose of it all is to make a user feel like the app has been created specifically for them. QA Madness can check the functionality and basic usability of a particular locale. Our core software localization testing services include the following.
Localization is more than translating the texts correctly. Countries are situated in different time zones, use varying time and date formats, metric systems, currencies, payment providers, etc. Some cultures have right-to-left writing, and others—full or partially logographic writing. The same goes for imagery—it should fit into the realities of a target audience. All these details should be factored in to provide a decent user experience. Hence, localization always implies the cooperation of several teams. Our QA engineers can handle all technical aspects of localization QA. Some types of localization testing, however, require specific content from other teams. In the case of translation, linguistic, and cultural testing, the task of QA engineers is only to validate the content they receive.
Visual testing focuses on how the user interface appears in different locales. It covers text, images, input fields, buttons, and other UI elements, verifying the correctness of alignment, formatting, and layout design.
Functional localization testing explores features and workflows. QA engineers check whether everything operates as expected in each target locale, with regional particularities and specific regional settings applied.
Compliance testing ensures that your software adheres to local laws, regulations, and industry standards in the target region. This might include checking for GDPR compliance in Europe, accessibility standards, etc.
Translation testing is meant to verify the accuracy and quality of the translated content. QA engineers check for issues like missing or mixed-up translations (but not inconsistent terminology or incorrect context).
Linguistic testing looks into texts from a linguistic perspective, verifying they are grammatically correct, contextually appropriate, and resonate with the target audience. It is not covered by QA providers or engineers.
Cultural testing checks various aspects, from text to images and colors, to confirm they are appropriate and relevant to the target market. It can be included in content validation if the corresponding files are provided.
Companies choosing localization recognize the value of customizing their products. Software localization testing is a way to verify that such customization has been successful. Since adjustments go beyond translation, investing in localization quality assurance will give you a competitive advantage, looking into various aspects of functionality, usability, and beyond.
Quality Assurance Setup and Testing for Mobile Gaming & NFT Platform
The client was looking for a QA engineer with experience in mobile testing and knowledge of the gaming industry. They had a new and custom platform and needed to set up the QA process from scratch: define the coverage, prepare documentation, and integrate testing into the workflow.
QA Process Setup and Testing for the Meeting Platform
The product was live, but the QA process was chaotic – without a clear flow or software testing specialists involved. The client sought an external audit and process setup so that other team members wouldn’t have to test the platform and severe defects wouldn’t slip to production.
Quick QA Team Scaling for Supply Chain Software Company
The company needed to expand its QA department rapidly during hypergrowth. They had high standards regarding the candidate requirements and an extensive list of responsibilities for the new team members. The main challenge was getting the right expertise while scaling quickly and smoothly.
Full-time QA Support for the Marketing Platform Provider
The QA team joined a few months into the development. The platform was new and developed from scratch. Thus, it required thorough analysis at all test levels and vast coverage. The team worked under frequently changing requirements and needed to adjust the testing strategy accordingly.
Testing Process Setup for the Cancer Research Software
The client develops innovative desktop software products in the healthcare domain. The QA engineers tested two of their projects – software that operates the laboratory devices. The company needed vast test coverage and consistent documentation standardized by their rules.
Testing of the Cloud-Based E-Commerce Solution
The company created a shipping storefront solution – a custom product that hasn’t been tested yet. The scope of tasks for QA engineers, in addition to running tests, included close analysis and the creation of a detailed functional checklist that would suit the first and subsequent test iteration.
QA Madness helps tech companies strengthen their in-house teams by staffing dedicated manual and automated testing experts.
We follow a structured approach to ensure your software meets the expectations of each target market. The localization testing process in QA Madness is designed to catch errors early, streamline workflows, and guarantee a seamless user experience.
Getting familiar with your product, goals, and expectations.
Quality assurance always starts with planning. QA engineers need to learn everything about your product or service. Besides direct interaction with the software, we study requirement specifications, design files, and other documentation you can provide. It helps understand the intended behavior of your software in detail.
Comprehending your business goals and expectations from localized testing often helps the QA team to tailor their QA approach better. With all the information gathered, they can define the test coverage, scope of work, and other details to prepare the test plan and strategy.
Setting background for localization software testing.
The next step is writing test documentation. Typically, QA engineers use a test plan or a test strategy to structure the overall process and keep all product team members posted on the progress. They also prepare checklists or test cases to organize the list of localization checks and avoid missing anything important.
Localization automation testing also relies on manual localization QA. The team will need to write test cases and turn them into scripts later.
QA engineers also need realistic test environments that closely mimic real-life conditions in which software is expected to be exploited. The same goes for test data. It’s essential to generate credentials, payment details, and other data types to check all the scenarios intended by sufficient test coverage.
Running localization tests and reporting the defects.
With everything planned and prepared, QA engineers can move on to testing. They follow the steps outlined in test cases or checklists to investigate all planned and important scenarios. QA localization checkups always mimic end-user behavior to ensure the software is ready for real-world exploitation.
All mismatches between actual and expected behavior, as well as glitches, logic gaps, and similar problems, are described in bug reports. Our QA engineers always provide detailed descriptions of the problems, with visual materials included, to make it easier to understand the defect and find its root cause.
Post-fix retesting to verify the changes in localization.
After software engineers fix the problems, QA specialists run repeated testing to verify the fixes. It’s critical to ensure that the bug is no longer reproduced. This stage also includes change-related testing—sanity, smoke, and regression. All three are meant to verify that core and business-critical functionality hasn’t been affected by the code changes and keeps working as intended.
Deployment of a fresh or improved localized software build.
By this stage, the team has a stable and checked software build ready for deployment. QA engineers can participate in the release management process or run a quick smoke test in production after the new software version goes live. It depends on the software’s needs, as well as team processes and agreements.
Choosing the right partner for localization QA testing can make the difference between a product that merely works and one that truly resonates with users in every market. The QA Madness team has a deep understanding of the technical nuances of product localization. That’s one of many things that makes us a good choice to cooperate with for localization testing.
We have over a decade of experience with various products and companies. This includes working with different types of solutions and tech stacks, as well as businesses from various business domains and locations.
All QA engineers pass a thorough recruitment process that includes assessing technical and soft skills. Currently, over 80% of our staff are Medium and Senior-level specialists, with ISTQB-certified experts among them.
We offer a custom approach to each project regarding cooperation models, expert selection, team scaling, etc. We can cooperate for a one-time or ongoing project with any team configuration, adjusting to your needs with time.
Each of our QA engineers becomes a full-fledged part of your team. We guarantee transparency, proactivity, detailed and valuable insights, as well as participation in all activities and timely updates on progress.
Security on all levels is of the utmost importance for our team. QA Madness is an ISO-certified company operating according to global standards. We also run cybersecurity testing to help your software meet safety regulations.
We value efficiency in everything, from choosing the projects for cooperation to bug reporting and suggesting QA team improvements. Our team shares our clients’ ambitions and focuses on helping you achieve your business goals.
“QA Madness has established a smooth workflow through effective communication. The team is trustworthy, efficient, and hardworking.”
CTO at BRKFST
Jon Lopinot
“Thanks to QA Madness’s efforts, we are able to resolve technical issues and keep our platforms optimized and bug-free.”
CEO at Dexter Agency
Marc Uitterhoeve
“QA Madness was seriously professional. They listened to our needs and gave us the kind of work we expected. As a result of their efforts, we can locate a bug in the test environment, which prevents issues from entering production. I would recommend them, 100%.”
COO at Bitbull Srl
Alessandro Ronchi
They’ve always been very professional, prompt, and available when we needed them. We’ve never had any issues or needed to go back and teach them how to meet our standards.
VP at Isadora Agency
Alex Mathias
QA Madness has significantly reduced the number of bugs and issues in our final products. They’ve also improved our internal processes.
Co-founder of Wezz E-Commerce
Jordi Dekker
QA Madness generated extensive feedback that developers normally can’t see. We could never have gained this insight without their thorough functionality testing services. I appreciated how quickly they conducted testing despite the high volume of work it entails.
CEO at SupportDesk
Wouter Den Otter
They are an extremely valuable part of our extended team, and I couldn’t ask for more from a project management standpoint. QA Madness team is extremely professional when it comes to sticking to estimates, scopes, and quotes.
Co-founder of Above The Fray Design, Inc.
Noah Oken-Berg
We know localization testing can raise a lot of questions. On this page, you can find the answers to common queries and learn how localization QA works in partnership with QA Madness. If you have more questions related to your specific project and its needs, contact our team to discuss everything in detail.
Localization testing verifies that your software is adapted to meet the particularities of specific markets. These can include language, cultural, and regional particularities. Localization goes beyond just translating text. Software testing involves evaluating date formats, currencies, units of measurement, UI layouts, images, compliance with local regulations, etc.
For example, a mobile app launched in Japan might need text displayed vertically and prices shown in yen. Localization testing verifies that these adjustments work seamlessly without breaking functionality or compromising the user experience.
Globalization testing is run to ensure that a digital solution supports multiple languages, regions, and cultural conventions from the start. The focus is on validating that the software’s architecture and design can handle global inputs (different scripts, time zones, calendar systems, etc.) without requiring major changes during localization.
For instance, globalization testing would confirm that a website can support Arabic right-to-left text alignment or that a database correctly stores characters from non-Latin scripts like Chinese or Hindi.
In a way, localization and globalization testing are different stages of preparing the software for multi-locale support.
Globalization testing ensures your software is capable of supporting diverse locales. Localization testing focuses on customizing the software for specific locales. Globalization testing in software testing sets the foundation and localization fine-tunes software for local markets. These particularities define the difference between them.
Localization testing validates the correct implementation for a particular market (e.g., ensuring that the currency symbol for the UK is £, not $). Globalization testing verifies the readiness of the software for international expansion (e.g., ensuring it supports multi-currency systems).
Both localization testing and internationalization testing are meant to ensure the software is ready for international markets. However, internationalization testing prioritizes a different direction than localization.
The purpose of an internationalization test is to prepare the software to support multiple languages, regions, and cultural preferences. It ensures the software’s architecture, code, and design can handle global inputs without modifications.
Localization testing with an example:
Internationalization testing with an example:
Localization testing follows the standard steps that are common for all testing types. QA engineers get familiar with the product and business needs and, based on this, define how to test localization and what to test (in other words, define the approach and test scope). They prepare test documentation, test data, and test environments.
With this setup, QA specialists can conduct testing—manually or automate it (if possible). They compare the software’s behavior to the expected outcomes for the target locale. All mismatches in expected and actual behavior are documented in bug reports. The defects are fixed, and QA engineers retest these cases to confirm that code changes are successful.
Companies may have slightly different practices and approaches to how to do localization testing. Yet, the general framework remains standard.
To automate localization tests, QA engineers need to start with defining the proper coverage. They choose the framework and automation tools for localization testing and write test scripts based on the existing test cases. The nuances of the localization testing automation strategy always depend on the software under test and the business challenges test automation is meant to address.
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