Building Your Localization Action Plan: From Strategy to Implementation

After learning about e-learning localization principles and Articulate 360's capabilities, it's time to put that knowledge into action!

Creating a structured localization action plan helps you move from theory to practice with confidence. This roadmap will guide your first localization project, helping you allocate resources appropriately, set realistic milestones, and establish processes that can be refined and scaled for future projects.

A thoughtful action plan transforms localization from an overwhelming task into a manageable, step-by-step process that delivers quality training to global audiences.

Essential Elements for Your Localization Action Plan

• Start with a strategic pilot project: Choose a single, high-value but moderately complex course for your first localization effort. Select a course with stable content that uses straightforward interactions and targets a language/region that aligns with business priorities. This focused approach allows you to refine your process before scaling to more complex projects.
• Design and prepare content for efficient localization: Review your source content to remove idioms, culturally specific references, and embedded text in images. Create flexible layouts in Storyline that accommodate text expansion, use variables for repeated content, and ensure all interactive elements will function properly when text length changes. These design principles make the technical aspects of localization much smoother.
• Build a cross-functional localization team: Identify who will handle each aspect of the process, including content preparation, translation management, technical implementation, cultural review, and quality assurance. Clarify roles and responsibilities for both internal team members and any external partners. Effective collaboration requires everyone understanding their part in the workflow.
• Plan for efficient course updates and maintenance: Develop protocols for handling content changes after initial localization. Document how you'll track versions across languages, identify and translate only modified content, and ensure all language versions remain synchronized. This forward-thinking approach reduces long-term maintenance costs and keeps all versions current.
• Set clear metrics to measure localization success: Define how you'll evaluate both the quality of your localized courses and the efficiency of your process. Include learner-focused metrics (satisfaction, assessment scores, completion rates) and process metrics (time requirements, cost efficiency, error rates). These KPIs help you demonstrate ROI and identify improvement opportunities.

Next Steps

1. Select your pilot course: Identify a specific Articulate 360 course that would benefit most from localization and determine which language(s) to prioritize.
2. Conduct a readiness assessment: Evaluate your current capabilities, tools, and resources against what you'll need for successful localization.
3. Create your localization checklist: Use the pre-localization checklist to ensure you've addressed all preparation requirements.
4. Schedule a kickoff meeting: Bring together everyone involved to align on goals, process, and expectations before beginning the work.
5. Build your project timeline: Develop a detailed schedule with specific milestones and responsibilities for your pilot project.

Summary

A comprehensive localization action plan incorporates all aspects of the process—from content design and team organization to quality assurance and measurement. By addressing each of these ten essential elements, you'll create not just a successful first localized course but also a sustainable approach for future global training initiatives. This structured methodology helps you implement e-learning localization effectively in Articulate 360 while building your team's capabilities over time. Remember that your action plan should evolve based on experience; the systems and insights you develop now will become more refined with each localization project you complete.