97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know

Chapter 3. A Word Can Make You Miss Your Deadline

PMP. Pavel Simsa

WHICH WORD CAN MAKE YOU MISS YOUR DEADLINE? The answer is "any word." When you are developing a product that will be released in languages other than English, you are adding numerous new risks and constraints to your project.

Some are technical and obvious. For example, if your product will be released in Japanese, it has to support the appropriate fonts. If it doesn't, the Japanese version won't work, even if the English one works perfectly. But font compatibility is not under your control. You and your team need to be aware of translation quirks and consider them before coding. Make sure that the development practices follow international standards that will eliminate such issues.

However, the mere need for alternate language versions also constrains what decisions you can make and when. Typically, localization (Japanese, Swedish, German, etc.) happens in parallel with English development, with a certain lag. It can be a few days, weeks, or even months. However, at some point the translation of the foreign version has to "catch up" with the English version.

You need to make sure during testing and reviews that:

• What is in the English version can be properly translated

• What is translated truly corresponds to the English version

• The translated product works flawlessly

Here's the catch. These three things may be tested after ...