# Localisation readiness checklist: before you roll out to five markets

Fill in the field ownership map for the content types you will localise, then work through the five sections with the people who will own content in each market, before you choose tooling or brief an agency. Progress and the open items that must close before tooling is chosen update as you go. The approach behind the list has been scoped, not yet delivered. Every unticked item is a decision still to be made, and it will be made for you, page by page, if left open.

## How to use it

Start with the map. For each field of each content type you will localise, decide who owns it and record the decision in one of three ways.

- **Global** means head office changes it and markets receive the change.
- **Local** means the market writes it and head office does not overwrite it.
- **Shared** means the market translates it but cannot change its meaning.

Then work through the five sections. An item carries the blocking badge when it needs an answer before tooling is chosen, and the result panel counts how many of those are still open.

## Field ownership map

List the content types you will localise and decide, per field, who owns it; the first four rows are examples you can edit or remove.

| Content type | Field | Global, local or shared | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product page | Product name | Global | Product marketing | Never translated |
| Product page | Headline | Local | Market manager | Market may rewrite |
| Product page | Claims block | Global | Head office review | Translated only after source approval |
| Landing page | Call to action label | Shared | Market manager | Length limit applies |
|  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |

## Readiness checks

### 1. Field ownership map

Check the map above before you move on.

- [ ] Every content type in scope has a row for each of its fields
- [ ] Every field has exactly one owner, named by role
- [ ] Markets that insist on rewriting rather than translating have those fields marked local, and head office has accepted that
- [ ] At least one market manager and one reviewer have seen the map and agree with it

### 2. Review gate definition

- [ ] It is written down who approves a variant before it publishes in each market
- [ ] A machine assisted draft cannot reach a live market without that person's decision, and the system enforces this
- [ ] The reviewer sees the page as it will appear, with the source language alongside, not a file of strings
- [ ] Rejection returns the variant to draft without an export or import
- [ ] Your review function has been told plainly that the gate is human, and has confirmed the process as written

### 3. Terminology source

- [ ] There is one list of terms that must not be translated, in one place every market and every agency can reach
- [ ] There is one list of sector specific terms with the agreed translation per market
- [ ] Brand phrasing that has already been settled is recorded, so it is not reopened per file
- [ ] Someone owns the list, and a change to it reaches the next draft without a manual step
- [ ] Your current agency has been asked which glossary they use for you, and the answer matches the list above

### 4. Variant versus copy audit

- [ ] Each market's page is a variant linked to the source page, not a separate copy
- [ ] For any page, you can see which markets have a variant and which are out of date against the source
- [ ] No market has a page that exists only there without the source knowing, or if one does, it is listed and deliberate
- [ ] Pages that were copied rather than linked have been counted, with a plan to relink or retire them

### 5. When a global page changes after local edits

The question most rollouts leave unanswered. Answer it per field type before you start.

- [ ] When a global field changes, the change reaches every market variant, and the market is notified rather than discovering it
- [ ] When a local field has been edited and the source changes, the market's edit is kept and the market is told the source moved
- [ ] When a shared field changes at source, the market's translation is flagged as out of date rather than silently overwritten or silently kept
- [ ] It is clear who resolves a conflict between head office and a market, and how long they have
- [ ] Each answer above has been tested on one real page with one market before the rollout plan is signed off

Sections 1, 2 and 5 are fully ticked before tooling is chosen. Sections 3 and 4 can be completed in the first weeks of the rollout, but the audit in section 4 shows how much relinking work is hiding in the current setup, so do it before you estimate anything.