Process

An executive decision to centralize localization within the UX team, although unconventional, proved advantageous. Several decisions emerged as the team prepared to localize two critical revenue-generating apps.

One app was already localized and on the market, with no major updates planned other than introducing additional languages, including right-to-left and logographic/alphabetic-syllabic scripts. On the other hand, the upcoming flagship product was in the midst of defining and refining key features and had not been localized previously. Legacy code further complicated the localization process, despite the simpler initial focus on markets with Latin/Romance languages.

Both scenarios were pivotal in shaping the overarching strategy aimed at establishing a robust foundation. From a user experience perspective, the UX team identified three key areas that became the cornerstone of the localization strategy, crucial for managing integrations with major industry players:

1. Branding and Content Consistency

We emphasized a consistent and user-centered approach to branding, ensuring that our app’s visual identity remained cohesive across different markets and working with different partners. By developing internal guidelines, we could balance Insulet's brand standards with the unique requirements of each market.

Additionally, maintaining Insulet’s brand involved ensuring consistency in terminology, as well as cultural and medical appropriateness, achieved through the development of a comprehensive reference of key terms. This database standardized translations across all languages and regions, covering industry-specific terminology, brand-specific terms, and commonly used product-related phrases. Its implementation ensured translation consistency, reduced ambiguities, and preserved the brand’s voice across different languages. Moreover, it expedited the translation process by providing a definitive reference for translators. Regular updates and proper utilization of this resource were crucial, empowering the teams to resolve conflicts effectively.

2. Adoption of a Global Design Mindset

Having a global design mindset may seem straightforward. One might assume that generating responsive specifications and adhering to accessibility practices are sufficient. For the UX team at Insulet, this was a good start, but we needed to review our responsive specifications for the legacy product in maintenance phase, as these specifications did not originally account for languages that expanded greatly or had different formats. In this context, one of my teams focused solely on redesigning UI layouts to adapt to different text lengths and ensuring all UI elements were tested for responsiveness.

For the newer product, we had to redesign some layouts, but we were fortunate that some features were still under development. The strategy was to create designs that prevented UI issues arising from text expansion or contraction in different languages. This ensured a uniform user experience across all localized versions of the app (on Android and iOS), maintaining both usability and aesthetic integrity. We aimed to create an experience for all markets that was at least as good as the one for the US. I was pleased to champion consistency across markets, ensuring a standardized experience regardless of country or language.

As the team and process matured, I led the UX team in designing a global product that caters to users from diverse cultural backgrounds while sharing the same goal: delivering the best, safest, and simplest insulin delivery experience. Fully flexible and responsive mockups marked the beginning of the product’s expansion as the market and ecosystem continue to evolve. Recognizing the importance of adaptability, especially with emerging devices like foldables, I tasked the team with rebuilding our component library to be fully responsive. This bold decision allowed us to reuse screens in other supporting products and positioned us well for future growth.

3. Dynamic Content Management

The last and most challenging piece was building the infrastructure to share the same strings between the code build and the UX files. With strong UX leadership, we established a rigorous process that eliminated the need to wait for the build to be ready to start translations. The initial effort to audit and align all text elements (strings) within the app was intense. The UX team checked line by line, pairing the copy and reviewing discrepancies, while mirroring how the development team built the code. This involved detailed reviews, context explanations, and collaboration with different teams to ensure accuracy. Despite the complexity of the ecosystem with various platforms, versions, and supporting products, the benefits of this hard work were evident.