How often do you use checklists as a kind of a guide through a process of system hardening or risk assessment? As a matter of fact I could ask how often you use checklists for whatever purpose that needs making sure a lot of little places have been looked on.
I do almost all the time. Every time there is more then five things to take care of I prepare a checklist. It’s reusable and provided it’s good, you can relay on its completeness.
There’s only one “but” — checklists prevent you. They prevent you from missing things if they’re good, but they also prevent you from being creative and seeing things that are not on the list.
Conclusion? Checklists can make your life a lot easier, but they can also make it unnecessarily complicated if you don’t pay enough attention.