The only time I have received an error importing the zip file is when there are security groups missing or a change to the application that has not been processed correctly eg an entity has been removed but it's still assigned to a workflow. Are you loading the zip into a different environment?
To answer your question though. There are 16 steps and the order is as follows:
1. Application Security Roles
2. Application Properties
3. Workflow Channels
4. Metadata
5. Cube Views
6. Data Management
7. Task Scheduler
8. Application Dashboards
9. Confirmation Rules
10. Certification Questions
11. Transformation Rules
12. Data Sources
13. Form Templates
14. Journal Templates
15. Workflow Profiles
16. Extensibility Rules