Collective Wisdom from the Experts 7
However, be aware that a relatively simple and low-risk last-minute change
in the English product, such as rephrasing a sentence (which takes only a few
seconds to code), often requires several days to implement and retest for all
the localized versions.
This can cost thousands of extra dollars, especially if you are contracting the
translation work to an external company. The mistake that less experienced soft-
ware development project managers often make is simple. They underestimate
the effect and magnitude of making unexpected changes to the English version.
Here are two main things you can do to prevent this:
• Add a “localization buffer” to the end of your schedule. End of schedule
means the effective deadline for any work on the English product included
in your project schedule. Any changes that need to be done after that tar-
geted end date must meet very specific and very strict criteria to “get in” to
the rework queue. Every change to this version also necessitates changes
to the foreign ones.
• Sequence the tasks in a way that quality control of functionality is done
separately from quality review of the English text. That can be as simple
as copying all of the English text to a spreadsheet for proofing. That way,
unclear wording can be found before the test cycle reveals it on an other-
wise functioning product. Now, the necessary change can be done earlier
and may not necessitate reworking other language versions.