Localization Case Study – Zilliant

Summary

Bridge360 delivered localization services and solutions to Zilliant, the leading provider of price optimization and price management software, enabling the company to take its first, important steps into international markets.

The Road to Europe–A Step at a Time

Bridge360’s reputation for preparing technology to work "anywhere in the world" is not based solely on high quality localization and testing services, though these are critical elements. The key for Zilliant was Bridge360’s expertise in identifying just the right steps for the company to ready its products for current and future European customers. Though Zilliant has a very strong development team, team members looked to Bridge360 for the international technical guidance so that they could ensure a smooth, successful product rollout.

Ensuring Readiness

The first step was to work with Zilliant to set up pseudo-linguistic testing for its Java-based application. Bridge360 recommends this type of testing so that engineering teams can quickly and cheaply verify that the code can handle all international support without breaking functionality.

"Pseudo linguistic testing can help to quickly identify whether software is ready to be localized before a company spends time and money on the translation process," says Chris Durand, Bridge360’s Chief Technology Officer. Indeed, the testing allowed Zilliant’s development team to uncover and fix issues with fonts and user interface display before the translation phase began.

Localizing and Testing the Software

Once the teams were convinced of the product’s localization readiness, Bridge360 began translating the software and online help. As with every project, Bridge360 assessed the translation work by carefully examining the software and online help files to come up with a schedule and plan that met the customer’s specific needs. At the outset of the project, Zilliant had specifically requested linguistic testing for the Spanish product. As a result, when the Spanish translations were complete, reviewed and integrated into the product build, Bridge360 sent a skilled, native Spanish speaking tester on-location to Zilliant.

"Linguistic testing helps ensure that the translations are accurate in context of the application," explains Ted Shaw, Director of Testing for Bridge360. "The tester navigates through all parts of the software, verifying that labels fit inside the buttons and text lines up correctly, along with performing other critical checks."

The completion of linguistic testing, followed by the final build and verification of the product’s online help files marked the successful completion of the software project, but there was more work to be done to help Zilliant go global.

Globalizing the Message

While the software project was in its translation phase, the customer’s marketing department asked Bridge360 to create French and German versions of a brief Flash video "tour" of its products and services for prospective customers in Europe. Bridge360 put together the schedule, translated the audio script and video animation text and provided French and German voice talent for the work.

After the customer and European partners approved the translations and selected the "voices," for the video, the team headed to the studio to record the French and German audio pieces. Next, the team put the finishing touches on the audio, integrated the translated animation text into Flash, and submitted the products for final approval. Zilliant was extremely pleased with the results.

Next Steps

"This project exemplifies Bridge360’s expertise at guiding customers through essential steps for expanding their businesses around the globe," says Brenda Hall, Bridge360’s CEO.

For Zilliant, careful planning and early assessment of product readiness ensured the success of this project and has paved the way for future localization projects. In fact, Zilliant has just asked Bridge360 to localize and test the product for three more European languages.

Download the complete case study here.