This is a guest post by Sam Bocetta, a retired engineer and current freelance journalist who specializes in writing about cyber defense, data privacy, and online security.

Cybersecurity is a process, not an event.

Though there are some tools and systems that you can put in place to dramatically improve the security of your workflow, in reality the best way to protect yourself against hackers is to stay constantly vigilant for emerging threats.

For this reason, rigorous cybersecurity practices should be built into your general workflow. They should be an integral part of building a knowledge management system, and integrated into everyday business practices.

One of the most powerful ways of doing this, and one that will also ensure that you don’t miss anything important, is to use checklists to codify daily, weekly, and monthly security tasks.

This system should also clearly indicate responsibility for each task, and specify mitigation steps should any issues be found.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Building a security checklist
• Creating a security culture
• How to use Process Street to incorporate security into your workflows
• More information security resources

Before specifying the tasks that should be part of your security workflow, let’s look at why having a regular security checklist is so important.
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Business-related problems not only crop up constantly, but they can also have massively negative impacts if not resolved promptly.

In fact, problems related to cash flow are why 82% of small businesses fail.

The good news is there’s a nifty way to get to the bottom of roadblocks quickly: 5 Whys.

According to Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Industries and inventor of 5 Whys, asking ‘why?’ 5 times can help you get to the root cause of the issue or problem you’re facing.

In this post, you’re going to learn more about the 5 Whys process, why it’s so beneficial, and you’ll even get your hands on a 5 Whys template, courtesy of Process Street.

Read through these sections to get the complete lowdown:

• What is 5 Whys? (The 5 Whys definition)
• What is 5 Whys’ history?
• How is the 5 Whys process beneficial?
• How to utilize Process Street’s 5 Whys template
• Improving & taking control of your business with Process Street!

So, why are you waiting around?

It’s time to become a pro at finding out why problems occur! 🔍

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It’s 9:00 am.

I grab my morning coffee.

Boot-up my laptop and join the 1 billion others logging into Google Drive today.

Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs; it’s all there.

I go straight to my Google Docs templates folder. As a content writer for Process Street, these templates include planning templates, review templates, and templates designed to record my research.

Suffice to say, as a content writer my Google Docs templates are the veritable pillars of my content creation process.

Oh, thank you, Google Docs templates…

But that’s not all there is to it.

Despite the wealth of convenience my Google Docs templates allow me, I wouldn’t be half the writer I am today if it wasn’t for Process Street.

What I mean to say is, I’ve built up an extremely efficient writing process that combines the convenient templates of Google Docs (via Google Drive) and the clear processes and convenient automation of Process Street.

By integrating Process Street + Google Drive into a simple, repeatable process for content creation, I know I can work productively and consistently meet my content writer duties.

For me…

Process Street + Google Drive = Success

…and in this article, I will show you how you can recreate my process, and build your own streamlined automations.

Click on the subheader below to jump to the relevant section. Alternatively read all and take a well-deserved moment to learn how to improve and refine your business processes.

• What is a Google Docs template?
• Google Docs templates: How to use Google Docs
• Google Docs templates: The benefits of Google Docs
• Integrate Process Street with Google Docs for an all-in-one collaborative and productive process
• 50 Google Docs templates
• Integrate Process Street + Google Docs to run smooth and efficient processes

Let’s get started!
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96% of companies had a form of process documentation in 2015.

Were you one of them?

What about today? Do you document your processes?

Is business process documentation still a popular approach?

These were the questions we at Process Street wanted to find the answers to. We asked top business experts from around the globe: How important is business process documentation for running a business?

In this article, we present to you our never-before-seen findings.

We successfully deciphered trends of the business process documentation market and determined the reasons for these trends. I recommend that you take the time to read all we have to say about business process documentation, but if you’re pushed for time, you can access the relevant section from the links provided below:

• Business process documentation: What is business process documentation?
• Business process documentation: Do you implement business process documentation in your business?
• Have you had an instance in your business that pushed you to start implementing process documentation?
• Business process documentation: How important do you think it is to document your business’s processes, and why or why not?
• How to use Process Street to document your business processes

Shall we get started?

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It’s a common misconception among marketing creatives that structure and planning impede creativity.

But of course, this isn’t true.

Not having a creative process in place can actually make your work more strenuous and ineffective. When there isn’t any project planning or set goals, it allows more room for inconsistencies, not meeting deadlines, miscommunication between your team and the clients, and overall chaos.

Good creative workflow management should encourage creativity, not hinder it. The key is developing a process that’s regulated enough that it boosts efficiency, but is also adaptable enough to be applied to the variety of projects your company will work on.

So, how can you achieve creative workflow management that provides a framework for your team without holding them back? That’s what we’ll be focusing on in this article.

In this article, we’ll be looking at:

• Why you need good creative workflow processes
• What is creative workflow management?
• Stages of creative workflow management
• The importance of approvals for creative workflow management
• Creative workflow process templates
• Using Process Street for creative workflow management

First things first; if you just want the free process templates for creative workflow management, then you can find them right here:

• Invoice Approval Workflow Checklist Template
• Blog Content Approval Checklist Template
• Graphic Design Approval Checklist Template
• WordPress Security Audit Checklist Template
• Video Content Approval Workflow Checklist Template
• Information Security Checklist Template
• Application Security Audit Checklist Template
• Content Marketing Workflow Management Checklist Template
• Enterprise Password Management Checklist Template
• Enterprise Video Content Management Checklist

If you’re unsure what a Process Street checklist looks like, check it out (pun intended):

If you want these templates, just sign up for a free trial (it takes about 2 minutes).

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Picture this: You’re on vacation.

(Sounds good already, huh?)

It’s summer. The sun’s shining. You’re on a beach with white sands and an ocean so clear you can see the coral.

You think, “Hey, I wouldn’t mind an ice cream right about now.” So you go to the ice cream kiosk before it closes for the day, choose your flavor of choice, go back to your towel, and eat it.

It’s the best ice cream you’ve ever had.

You want more.

But it’s gone. (And the kiosk is shut, too.)

Your vacation is ruined. R U I N E D.

Sometimes, one of something isn’t enough. Not just when it comes to delicious food, but also concerning more practical things like iPhone charging cables (why are they so flimsy, Apple?!), and of course, checklists.

Having multiple checklists holds you and your team in incredibly good stead when it comes to all kinds of business-related activity, no matter if the team works in marketing, engineering, sales, or customer support.

But don’t take my word for it.

Take the word of the 30+ businesses who’ve offered their insights to the Process Street community regarding the types of checklist they use (and why). Read through the following sections to get the complete lowdown:

• What makes having different types of checklist beneficial?
• How teams utilize their varying types of checklist
• Tips and tricks for making various types of checklist for your team
• Tools used to create different types of checklist
• Use Process Street for every kind of checklist imaginable!

Now, forget about that ice cream – there’s work to do!

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In 1836, Edward Bulwer-Lytton came up with the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword“.

Bulwer-Lytton was referring to good writing and effective communication being the most powerful tool of all. So powerful that it could win wars.

In business’ modern-day war against tough deadlines, seemingly never-ending workloads, and stiff business competition, Bulwer-Lytton’s adage still rings true.

Particularly when it comes to penning checklists.

Here at Process Street, we’d go far as to say that checklists are something of a secret weapon hidden in plain sight. They maximize productivity, minimize stress and anxiety, and can keep perilous human error at bay.

But the rewards can only be reaped if checklists are well-written.

Not sure how to write checklists properly? Confused whether you’re penning checklists the right way or not?

I’ve got you covered in the following sections where you’ll learn what checklists are used for, why they’re so useful, on top of being given tips and tricks for writing checklists from 15 thriving companies:

• What are checklists?
• Why are checklists so useful?
• Tips & tricks for writing checklists from 15 thriving businesses
• Writing checklists: The key takeaways
• Use Process Street for writing checklists efficiently and effectively!

Now, it’s time to march onwards! 🥁

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Cutthroat. Ruthless. Dog-eat-dog.

No, I’m not introducing this year’s hottest action movie – I’m talking about the world of business.

Nowadays, it’s quicker and easier than ever to get a business up and running. Hell, with the emergence of low code and no-code platforms, it’s not just quick and easy but downright simple.

But only 3 out of 4 companies featured in the S&P 500 list will still be relevant – and even exist – in 2027.

With this stark realization, how do startup hopefuls and the Fortune 500 alike know if they’ve got the resources and capabilities to not only stay in the game for the long-haul, but have an overall competitive advantage?

VRIO.

I last discussed VRIO in my post What is VRIO? The 4-Step Framework for Continuous Business Success, where I laid the foundation for understanding what VRIO is, where it came from, and how to navigate the framework.

However, in this post, I’ll be taking things one step further.

I’ll recap what VRIO is (handy for those who don’t already know!), discuss the specific benefits of VRIO analysis, and even provide you with a free VRIO analysis checklist – made by us here at Process Street!

Just read through the following sections to get started:

• What is the VRIO definition?
• The benefits of using the VRIO model for business analysis
• Using Process Street’s VRIO analysis checklist
• Tips for undergoing VRIO analysis with our checklist
• Additional resources for a sustained competitive advantage

The clock’s ticking, so let’s jump in! ⏱

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At Process Street, we’re all about checklists. We use them for absolutely everything.

I have a checklist for my daily tasks, a checklist for writing this blog post, and even a checklist for planning our monthly sprint!

Basically, no task is too big nor too small for a checklist.

But it got us thinking – what are the best ways to use checklists to get maximum value from them?

My personal view is that they’re most useful for highly regular recurring tasks, like a sales call or dealing with an IT support ticket.

My reasoning here is that following the checklist gives you incremental benefits, so the more you follow it the more you benefit. Moreover, the more you follow a business process, the more you understand it’s faults and failings, allowing you to make improvements. Therefore, using a checklist to follow a business process for a task which you do multiple times a day will give you the highest efficiency savings and output increases.

This is compounded if you use a tool like Process Street due to its automation potential; you can automate data entry for data gathered during the task, you can trigger another action in another app, or you can automate the approval process for a completed task.

So I think I have a pretty strong case for why the most common actions benefit most from checklists, but that doesn’t necessarily tell us how they can work best for you.

In this article, you’ll look at a few different ways of employing checklists and get great insight and input from across the industry, as part of Process Street’s original research.

• Checklists in the workplace: Notes and ad hoc checklists for organization
• Checklists in the workplace: Employee tasks and recurring processes for efficiency
• Checklists in the workplace: Idea generation and getting good work done
• How not to use checklists in the workplace
• Gaffes and mixups; the hilarious happenings of checklists gone wrong!
• Start using Process Street checklists in your workplace today!

Let’s get started.

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Fleet management is so much more than simply owning and operating vehicles. It’s a complex interplay of many different factors and optimizations – much like the concept of business process management.

In recent years, more and more tools for fleet management optimization are emerging. Fleet management is changing.

Projected growth of the fleet management industry to about $30 billion by 2022 is largely driven by advances in technology – and the rate at which fleet management companies adopt this emerging technology will largely impact the rate of this projected growth.

And it seems fleet management companies are aware of this.

The National Conference of State Fleet Administrators (NCSFA) recommended in a 2018 survey of 44 state and university fleet participants that fleet management companies begin implementing “robust fleet management policies and procedures” as well as “accelerating the implementation of technology to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of fleet management practices”.

That same survey showed that 38% of repairs and 39% of preventative maintenance work were insourced, on top of the in-house work that is done as part of routine fleet management. Just another incentive to tighten up your processes and streamline all of that manual work with a good, solid process.

In this article, we’ll be looking at how you can use Process Street to implement robust fleet management policies and procedures. I’ll cover:

• What is fleet management?
• What is fleet management software?
• Fleet management templates
• Using Process Street for fleet management

Let’s start by making sure we’re all on the same page; what exactly is fleet management?
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