Review

Challenges in Software Internationalization

Obliterating global barriers have been paving the ways for software companies to expand their consumer base into countries they had never before interacted with . With Indians and Chinese supplying software to the US and the Japanese sharing technology with the Europeans , the need for software localization is an important one to avoid bottlenecks in understanding and operations

The article Measures to achieve quality in localization ' by Eva Muller explained comprehensively some of the challenges in software internationalization . The various factors that need to be borne in mind

br when testing software for localization have been drafted with great clarity . These include

User-interface elements

Adaptability to local customs

Layout of forms

Bidirectional support

Date /Time compatibility

Foreign numbers , letters and currency support

Punctuation and display of messages

Placeholder sequencing

Case mapping and font bolds

Localized online help (Muller , 2007

The emphasis laid out by Muller was on the various rubrics that should be kept in mind when testing software for internationalization . One of the biggest challenges mentioned was of the availability of a localized online help . Although the issue of foreign number , currency and letters acceptability is also an important one , clearly helping is one of the most critical components of software . No software is complete without an online help and thus internationalization requires that the help component be as localized as possible

Users working on software may face problems and to find the solution they are obliged to use the documented online help provided with the software...