Concept of Globalization Testing

The basic idea to carry Globalization testing is to ensure that the product works as expected both in the representation of data and functionalities in all cultures/locales. The demand for International trading has been increased tremendously, which introduced the need for Globalization Testing.

This testing ensures that application acknowledges all language input texts and if it can be used across different regions or not. It uncovers the potential problems that could prevent the globalization of app in application design.

What needs to be tested?

Most important concepts that must be covered in Globalization testing are:

1) Language Vocabulary:

A globalized product supports a number of languages. So, to ensure it works well in all languages, a user must perform Globalisation testing.

The testers can take the help of language translators to validate the text and vocabulary used all over the application. Testers may need not to validate word by word. However, a quick view of different languages in the application can do our work.

2) User Interface:

Testers must check the UI as per different writing styles as some languages are written from left to right and others from right to left. There should not be any issues like text overlapping, misalignment of text, navigation issues. UI must be clean.

3) Date and Time Notation:

The most common date format used is DD/MM/YYYY while some countries accept MM/DD/YYYY. So, testers must validate the format as per the region. Similarly, the 24-hour and 12-hour notation must be validated.

4) Date/Time Correctness:

Testers must check if the time is updated according to different time zones on switching to different regions. For Example, 1:23 am in Eastern Time(ET) is 11:53 in Indian Standard Time(IST).

5) Currency Format and Conversion Rates Handling:

If the application is used across different countries, the correct symbol must be displayed along with units. If the price of a product is 10 dollars, but application displays 10 only, a user might get confused whether it is 10 rupees or 10 dollars. Also, the conversion rates must be handled properly.