Are you learning about Agile software methods, but aren’t sure how to apply them to global software? This article explains how to do globalization in an organization using Scrum as a methodology.
The primary activities of software globalization are internationalization, localization, and testing. We will describe how each activity maps to the Scrum process.
Software Internationalization (I18n)
Software internationalization is the process of architecting and writing software so it will function properly in multiple countries. It involves designing software in a modular fashion so new countries can be easily supported by swapping out language packs and software libraries, rather than rewriting lots of code. This is a primary engineering task, and is well-suited to being done with Scrum. Requirements from international customers tend to change rapidly, so using Scrum to address these requirements in an agile fashion is a great idea.
Functional Testing
This is functional testing that is specific to the internationalization process. This verifies that generic features can be used by international customers, and also verifies features that are specific to certain international market segments.