I’ve previously written a takeaway article for Multilingual decrying the lack of a clear user experience (UX) focus to the general globalization, internationalization, localization and translation industry. I’ll be revisiting this subject in the magazine later this year. Have things changed? Why is it important anyway? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out!

But here is one great example of translation and UX professionals working together in a win-win situation. Pleased to say that I was the one to initiate this (humility Ultan, please) co-operation. The Oracle Applications Mobile User Experience team and the Oracle Worldwide Product Translation Group (WPTG) language specialists recently worked together on ethnographic research into mobile workers in Europe (Sweden in this case).

The UX side benefitted from the local language specialist’s language, market insight and cultural knowledge and WPTG benefitted from advance knowledge of our design thinking and direction so that translation effort resources and materials can be readied in advance.

So, true context of use for everyone up front.

You can read more about this global co-operation on my Oracle Not Lost in Translation blog.