Localization Risk, As Time Goes By

In 1999 I created a presentation on minimizing the risk in localization projects. It offered several scenarios with possible decision-paths and ways to keep risk low. I've dusted off the presentation and offer a sample from it today.

1. Your company decides to localize its product, and assigns the project to the Technical Publications Manager. Unfortunately, that is you. Do you:

• rebel, because it’s not why you hired on?
• rebel, because it’s not a Tech Pubs function?
• rebel, and do it anyway?

The Risk - Entrusting the project to someone who doesn’t want it or cannot manage projects. To minimize the risk, pick someone with project management expertise over linguistic/writing/engineering/product expertise.

2. Your CEO tells you he wants to localize into 5 Western languages and 2 Asian languages first time out. He offers you an extra 5,000 stock options if you complete the project successfully. Do you:

• say, “Piece of cake!” and take the challenge?
• ask, “Am I being set up for failure?”
• counter, “I'll do that if you do the press tours”?

The Risk - Biting off more than you can chew, especially the first time out. To minimize the risk,
schedule a scaled-down “pilot project” rather than picking a fight you may not win.

3. You explain to your QA Manager that she will soon have the opportunity to test French and Portuguese versions of the product. She replies, “Oh, we’ll have no part of that.” Do you:

• laugh?
• cry?
• pretend you didn’t hear her and say, “Right. I'm glad we understand each other”?

The Risk - Intimidating or alienating co-workers with the localization process. To minimize this risk, educate first, then start mustering resources. Also effective is an evangelization effort to boost your project's visibility everywhere in the organization.


In short, it's not very exciting to go home at the end of the day and tell your spouse that you spent most of your day minimizing localization risk, but it is quite important. The risk lives in lots of narrow corners, and it's your job to find it before it finds you.