Post-production process in ISO 17100

The post-production process begins after delivery of the translation. In a translation conforming to ISO 17100, the work does not simply end when the agency sends the files to the client. The standard also covers handling of feedback, possible corrections, satisfaction assessment and closing administration for the project.

This stage is important because many translations are used in live contexts: web publication, legal procedures, internal review, technical documentation, medical files, catalogues, tenders or corporate materials. After delivery, questions, changes, comments or reasonable adjustments may arise.

A certified translation agency must have a clear procedure for dealing with those situations without improvisation.

What happens after translation delivery

After delivery, the client may review the work, use it internally, send it to an authority, include it in a publication or transfer it to another department.

At that stage, terminology questions, comments from a technical team, observations from a legal department, changes in the source document, formatting adjustments, small corrections, requests for clarification, delivery incidents or needs for archiving and reuse may appear.

Post-production serves to manage all this in an orderly way.

It is not about reopening the project indefinitely, but about having a process to handle comments related to the service provided.

Client feedback

ISO 17100 requires the translation company to have a procedure for handling client feedback.

This feedback may be linguistic, terminological, technical or format-related.

For example, a client may indicate that it prefers a specific internal name for a product, that an abbreviation must remain in English or that a sentence should be adapted to a corporate style guide.

When the comment is justified and affects the delivered project, the agency must assess it, decide whether a correction is appropriate and apply the necessary changes.

In technical, medical or legal projects, this stage can be especially delicate. A comment that seems minor may affect consistency throughout the whole document.

Corrections and corrective actions

Not all subsequent changes are the same.

A correction fixes an error detected in the translated text or in the process. It may be an omission, an incorrect term, a typo, an inconsistency or a formatting problem.

A corrective action seeks to identify the cause of the problem so that it does not happen again.

If a one-off error is detected, it is corrected. If a pattern is detected, for example an instruction communicated incorrectly or a translation memory with incorrect terminology, the origin of the problem should be reviewed.

Post-production makes it possible to close the quality cycle.

Client changes versus translation errors

One of the most common issues after delivery is distinguishing between an error and a change of preference.

Correcting an omission, adjusting a word for terminological consistency, applying a new stylistic preference, incorporating changes to the source, adapting the text for a use different from the one agreed or modifying an already revised translation because the client’s internal criterion has changed are not the same thing.

Pre-production helps avoid these situations because it records the project specifications before work begins. Even so, later changes may arise in practice.

A professional management process must analyse each case and explain whether it is a correction included in the service or an additional modification.

Client satisfaction assessment

Post-production can also include satisfaction assessment.

This should not be understood only as a generic survey. In professional translation, satisfaction can provide useful information about deadline compliance, clarity of communication, terminological suitability, perceived quality, delivery format, usefulness of revision and ease of reusing files.

In recurring projects, this information helps improve later assignments.

For example, if a client prefers a particular terminology for its technical manuals, that preference can be incorporated into a glossary or translation memory for future projects.

Project closing administration

ISO 17100 also covers the administration of project closure.

This includes archiving documentation for an appropriate period and complying with legal or contractual obligations regarding retention, data protection or destruction of materials.

Closure may include source files, final translations, revised versions, client instructions, accepted quotations, relevant communications, glossaries, translation memories, incidents, comments and delivery records.

This archive makes it possible to maintain traceability.

If the client needs to recover a project, update a translation or check a terminology decision, the agency can consult the history.

Data protection and confidentiality

Post-production must respect project confidentiality.

Many translated documents contain sensitive information: contracts, medical reports, academic records, financial documentation, commercial strategies, patents, personal data or internal communications.

For that reason, closing the project is not just a matter of storing files. It also involves controlling who has access, how long documents are kept and when they must be deleted if that has been agreed.

Information security is part of the professional translation service.

Post-production in medical, legal and technical projects

In some sectors, post-production carries more weight.

In medical and pharmaceutical translations, there may be comments from clinical teams, regulatory departments or product managers.

In legal translations, lawyers, in-house counsel or compliance departments may be involved.

In technical documentation, observations may come from engineers, product teams or maintenance managers.

Managing those comments requires judgement. It is not enough to apply changes automatically. It must be assessed whether the comment improves the translation, affects terminology consistency or contradicts the source.

Post-production in website translation

In website translation, post-production may include checks after publication.

It is common to review visible text on screen, forms, buttons, menus, SEO titles, meta descriptions, internal links, automatic messages, truncated text, untranslated strings and consistency between pages.

A web translation may have been linguistically revised and still need adjustments once it is integrated into the CMS or final environment.

That is why translation, revision and later in-context review should be separated.

Relationship with project management

Translation project management does not end with delivery.

The project manager also coordinates subsequent feedback, corrections, archiving, queries and closure. The function is to keep the project under control until it is closed both documentally and operationally.

In multilingual projects, this prevents a correction from being applied in one language and forgotten in others. It also helps maintain consistency in successive deliveries.

What post-production adds to quality

Post-production provides three clear advantages.

First, it makes it possible to respond to feedback without improvising. Second, it turns incidents into learning for future projects. Third, it preserves useful records for traceability, updating and maintenance.

Quality is not only about delivering a correct translation. It is also about knowing how to manage what happens when that translation enters use.

LinguaVox and post-production

LinguaVox manages feedback, corrections, updates and closing administration in technical, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, web, corporate and multilingual translation projects.

When a project requires continuity, LinguaVox can maintain translation memories, glossaries and terminology criteria to facilitate future updates.

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Frequently asked questions about post-production in ISO 17100

What is post-production in a translation project?

It is the stage after delivery. It includes handling client feedback, possible corrections, satisfaction assessment, closing administration, archiving and secure management of project information.

Must the agency correct client feedback after delivery?

The agency must analyse it and handle it according to its procedure. If the feedback identifies an error or nonconformity, it must be corrected. If it is a change of scope or a new preference, it may require an additional update.

What is the difference between correction and corrective action?

A correction fixes a specific error. A corrective action analyses the cause of the problem to prevent it from occurring again in similar projects.

Why is project archiving important?

Archiving makes it possible to maintain traceability, recover versions, consult instructions, reuse terminology and show how the translation service was managed.

Does post-production affect small projects?

Yes. Even if the project is brief, there may be comments, questions, corrections or a need to recover the translation later. The level of documentation may vary, but the principle remains useful.

What happens if the client changes the source after delivery?

That change is not usually considered a correction of the service delivered. It is normally treated as an update or extension of the project, especially if it affects volume, deadline, format or revision.