A process checklist template is the record half of a procedure: one tick per step that matters, with who ticked it and when, so that the run leaves evidence. It is not the procedure itself, and a checklist written instead of a procedure is a list of reminders nobody can train against. The standard operating procedure template on this site sizes the procedure; this page is how the checklist is cut from it.
One tick per step that matters, not per step
A twelve-step procedure does not need twelve ticks. The steps that produce a record, cross a control or make a decision are the ones a checklist records; the rest are followed, not evidenced. Choosing which is the procedure owner's job and the reason the checklist is derived from the procedure rather than drafted freehand.
Who and when, or it is a to-do list
A tick with no name and no time is a reminder. A tick with the person and the timestamp is a record an auditor or a customer can read, and it is what turns a checklist into evidence that the procedure was followed on that day.
The checklist changes when the procedure does
A checklist kept in a different place from the procedure drifts from it: a step is added to the procedure and the checklist keeps ticking the old list. Keeping the two as one document, with the checklist re-cut when the version changes, is what RunbookDesk Pro does; the free tools size the procedure it starts from.
Runs per week size the record
A procedure that runs five times a week with four ticks each produces a known number of records a month, and that number decides whether a printed sheet, a spreadsheet or a system holds them. The SOP example builder on this site prints the weekly hours a procedure consumes from the same figures.
Questions people ask about process checklist template
Is there a free process checklist template?
The standard operating procedure template on this site sizes the procedure the checklist is cut from, free with no account. Keeping the ticks with names and times against each run is the paid product.
How many items should a checklist have?
As many steps as produce a record, cross a control or make a decision; usually a third to a half of the procedure's steps.
Can I use a checklist without an SOP?
As a reminder, yes. As training or evidence, no; the procedure is what says why each tick exists.