Postchecks

Postchecks are verification activities conducted after a process, event, or output to confirm that results meet requirements, are accurate, and comply with standards. The term is not tied to a single discipline and its precise meaning varies by domain; in practice it describes a post hoc review designed to catch errors that were not detected earlier in the workflow.

In manufacturing and quality assurance, postchecks occur after production runs or package finalization. Inspectors verify dimensional tolerances, labeling, packaging integrity, and quantity, and perform sampling or automated checks. Findings are recorded, and dispositions (rework, scrap, release) are assigned. Data from postchecks feed process improvement and traceability systems.

In software engineering, postchecks refer to validation after deployment, data processing, or batch jobs. They may include health checks, reconciliation between expected and actual outputs, data integrity verification, and regression screening. If issues are found, rollback plans or hotfix deployments may be triggered.

In finance and auditing contexts, postchecks involve post-transaction reconciliation, settlement verification, or audit-trail verification to ensure that records balance and regulatory requirements are met. They help detect duplicates, omissions, or timing mismatches.

Best practices for postchecks include defining clear criteria, automating repeatable checks, maintaining auditable logs, and integrating with incident management. However, postchecks can be resource-intensive and may delay delivery if not balanced with risk-based priorities. Combining automated checks with human review often yields robust results.

Related concepts include post-implementation review, post-mortem, and post-release validation.