Localization (L10N) is the process of adapting products and services originally designed for a single Market, so it can be launched in international markets. The adaptations go far beyond the language (translation) and include changes to any information that could compromise the understanding that the user has of the product.

Although the localization and the localization testing are not strictly a part of the process of software development, localization only becomes possible once you have developed the software and prepare it for localization; this process is called internationalization.

Localization testing checks how well the software has been localized to a specific target language. In addition to verification of the translated content, called a language test, functional tests should be performed. In these tests, we check whether the entire application is really working and is ready to be marketed and is ready for use in the market for which it was localized.

In the next post I will talk about what should be taken into account in the localization testing process and where you should focus on when carrying out the tests.

I’m going to give you some tips on how to improve your personality, which you should also add to your list of resolutions.

1. Develop an interest in people

Try to find out what people need. Learn about their likes and dislikes, interests and beliefs. By doing that, you’ll be known as someone with an attractive and likable personality.

2. Admit your weaknesses.

Do not consider yourself to be perfect. Just as people have their strong points, they also have their weaknesses. In order to improve your personality, you must admit your flaws.

3. Admire your friends.

Pay them compliments. Let them know how important they are to you.

4. Try to stay close to successful and happy people.

Seek the company of people who can reveal new perspectives, renewed hopes and a purpose for life.

5. Don’t be ashamed to demand or ask.

Ask for advice and direction. Your friends can provide you with valuable information about life experience. You can learn from their knowledge and apply it to improve your personality.

What’s more, you can also develop new abilities, such as public speaking, negotiating and understanding people’s attitudes and beliefs.

Improving your personality involves hard work and dedication. Even though it demands great effort, it can be interesting and fun because you are focusing your attention in order to  have a better rapport with others and make yourself a better person.

Happy New Year!!!

Thousands of people gather together every year on December 31 on Copacabana Beach – most of them dressed up in white – waiting to greet the New Year. The highlight of the party is an intense and memorable firework display set at midnight sharp that lasts around 20 minutes! A unique spectacle!

Along with the New Year’s celebrations, mystical and religious aspects take place since  lots of Brazilians worship Iemanjá, and this celebration also happens on the turn-of-the-year. Loads of candlelight offerings are delivered into the waves in honor of the “Queen of the Sea.” Whenever you come to spend New Year’s in Rio, don’t be scared if you come across tons of candles spread all over the sand and the beach quite dirty. =)

Every hotel gets ready for the big party by preparing sophisticated meals and providing the tourist with the best in hospitality. The local people go out to celebrate and enjoy the fireworks by the Copacabana Sea.

The party goes through the night and the same festive atmosphere that started at midnight is over only on the morning of January 1.

Let the New Year begin!

I found it very interesting, as we are always paying attention to other languages and cultures, but forget that our own language also has its own value.

The following are the main reasons:

1. Brazil is a fascinating and exotic country with a rich history and incredible people
2. This century, North and South America will become an economic bloc
3. Music: To understand the poetry in the Portuguese lyrics
4. Travels: The majority of Brazilians do not speak English
5. Brazil is the country of the future
6. Because it is exactly what cool people like you should do
7. The sound: Portuguese pronunciation is beautiful
8. So you can impress your friends
9. So you can meet new people
10. Portugal is also not that bad…

I believe you also have other reasons to suggest. I will wait for your participation and comments, ok?

However, we should create the habit of completing the ideas in gerund with dates, times or periods of times. If we apply this tip to the above quoted sentences, they would sound more appropriate: “we are developing the timeline and we will have everything done by the end of the day,” “the resource is translating the file and we will delivery it by the end of the 13th of this month,” “the proof reader is finishing the job and we will deliver it by the end of the day, before 5pm.”

Therefore, you should always try to keep the habit of reporting the activities either to your customer or to your team by giving them a time reference. This management trick gives all those involved with the project (the stakeholders) a sense of work assurance and proves that you are a project manager that cares about dates and deadlines, and consequently, have the project under control.

Once in a while, we get caught up in some unexpected out of control situation. Becoming irritated, grumpy and aggressive is not going to make the situation any better. To the contrary, your annoyance is only going to make your co-workers keep a distance from you, and clients report you to your superiors, and they will end up questioning whether you have self-control.

There are several studies about the importance of maintaining a good sense of humor at the workplace. James Lin, a North American psychologist, states that “those who laugh together, work better.” Therefore, the positive energy created by good humor will create a much better workplace environment.

However, a good sense of humor should also be present at the higher levels of the hierarchy, since these individuals are the role models for the work team. If the bosses are introspective, moody or unfriendly, this will reflect on the whole team.

It is known that a sense of humor depends on each person’s personality. However, this can be developed, especially if the work environment is favorable to generating professional satisfaction.

The following are some good attitudes that can help boost your sense of humor:

- Seek happiness
- Do not hide your feelings.
- Act natural, be yourself.
- Make friends and be pro-active and participative.
- Have some tolerance with those who still do not understand your lifestyle.

Tell a joke, have a conversation, talk about something you found interesting. And, most of all, smile! Remember, you should also do all this at home. This way, you’ll always be in good spirits whether at home or at work.

The goal of the site is to offer everyone the benefits of good reading. Since we all know that good reading can be invaluable, this is the exact goal of the website organizers: to provide good reading and free access to all.

The books can be downloaded for free from the http://www.free-ebooks.net website The only drawback is that you need to register, but it is really worth this little effort, is it not? In case you prefer to buy, there are books available for purchase too.

For those who have difficulty understanding spoken English, this is a good opportunity to practice your language skills.

You can download the books in several formats.

If you could not find a book of your interest, unfortunately you will have to wait until the author or copyright owner sends it to them the file and authorization to publish. You can also contact the author directly and suggest that he or she makes the eBook available on the website.

Or perhaps you could be the author… In this case, go there and talk to them! You might be even published.

Enjoy!

Personal meetings are considered one of the most important communication means of a project; they are critical for the integration of team members and follow up of action items.

Meetings provide a greater level of commitment by establishing face to face communication, where speech, facial expressions, intonation and body language can be perceived more clearly. However, many people criticize the need for meetings and doubt their effectiveness. In fact, the way certain meetings are conducted sometimes gives you a strong feeling of time wasted.

Therefore, experts stress how important it is for organizer and participants to pay attention on how they drive or participate in meetings; they should attempt to not waste time so that the company or the project achieves the desired efficiency.

A successful meeting should have time tracking, leadership, adequate groups, goals and documentation. Moreover, in decision-making meetings, a well-defined purpose must be clearly informed to all participants.

Below are some recommended procedures for successful meetings for both leaders and participants. After all, it does no good to have a leader if he cannot hold the attention of participants.

Leader
– Plan
– Pre-establish the purpose of the meeting
– Invite the right people
– Explain the purpose of the meeting in advance
– Avoid sitting
– Keep track of time and the amount of information
– Create the meeting record and documentation

Participants
– Prepare for the meeting
– Arrive on time
– Focus
– Control your emotions
– Do not monopolize the conversation
– Do not interrupt the other participants
– Do not change the subject
– Never answer your cell phone during the meeting!

Watch in this video an example of bad behavior during a meeting:

Obviously, neither the meeting leader nor the participant made use of good meeting behavior. And do not try this at your office!

Now that you have calmed down, the first thing to do is to analyze the situation. Do not do anything before this analysis; as the project progresses, things could get worse.

Ask for help. As a project manager, you can (and should!) ask for all the help you need. A good alternative is to ask for help from someone outside of the project, preferably someone higher in the hierarchy, such as a department manager or director who can help you assess the situation more clearly. Often times, an outsider tends to perceive minute details and might be able to detect some weak point that passed unnoticed by you or the project team.

Once the situation has been evaluated and all problems have been detected, you should create a new timeline and communicate it to the stakeholders. According to the PMBOK, project managers should spend 90% of their time communicating. Besides, negotiation is one of the main skills a project manager should have.

So this is the right time to start using that skill. This is the time to negotiate a new deadline with the client, but make sure the result of the negotiation is good for all parties. Remember that you will not have much chances to start a new negotiation, therefore, all aspects of the project that need to be renegotiated should enter the discussion right now.

Have a nice work day!

One of the candidates gave the answer below. He was approved and his response was a huge success. He will certainly always be remembered for his courage, creativity, poetry and above all, his free spirit. Read the passage below and reflect:

I have tickled my sister to make her stop crying.
I have burnt myself playing with candles.
I have blown a bubble with chewing gum and made a mess on my face.
I have talked to a mirror, and pretended to be a warlock.
I have dreamed of being an astronaut, guitar player, magician, hunter and acrobat.
I have hid behind a curtain but forgot my feet sticking out at the bottom.
I have made prank phone calls.
I have taken a shower in the rain and became addicted to it.
I have stolen kisses.
I have mixed up my feelings.
I have taken wrong shortcuts yet continue to walk into the unknown.
I have scraped the bottom of the rice pan.
I have cut myself shaving in a hurry.
I have cried listening to music in the bus.
I have tried to forget some people, but then I found out they were the most difficult to forget.
I have secretly climbed on the roof to catch stars.
I have climbed a tree to steal fruit.
I have fallen off a ladder onto my butt.
I have made eternal promises.
I have written on the school wall.
I have cried sitting on the bathroom floor.
I have run away from home forever, only to return afterwards.
I have run to avoid seeing someone crying.
I have been alone in the middle of a million people, missing just one.
I have seen an orangish-pink sunset.
I have thrown myself in the pool without wanting ever to get out.
I have drunk whiskey until my lips were numb.
I have seen the city from above and still could not find my place.
I have been afraid of the dark, I have trembled from nerves.
I have almost died from love, but rose again to see the smile of someone special.
I have woken in the middle of the night but was too afraid to get out of bed.
I have dared to run barefoot in the street.
I have screamed of happiness.
I have stolen roses from an enormous garden.
I have fallen in love for what I thought was forever, but “forever” was only half of it.
I have lay on the grass late at night and saw the moon turn to sun.
I have cried to see friends depart, but soon discovered new friends and realized that life is made of arrivals and departures.

I have done so many things… So many moments captured by the lenses of emotion and kept in a trunk called heart.

And now this questionnaire asks me, pushes me against the wall, and shouts, “What is your experience?” This question echoes in my brain: experience… experience… Could “smile sower” serve as good experience? Dreams!!! Maybe they still do not know how to harvest dreams!

Now I would like to ask something to whoever formulated this question:
Experience? Whoever has it if at any moment everything is renewed?

(This piece was published in the internal HR newsletter of Volkswagen Brasil. The name of the candidate was not revealed.)