What is Bus Factor?
A measurement of the risk resulting from information and capabilities not being shared among team members, from the phrase "in case they get hit by a bus."
Definition
Bus factor is a measurement of the risk resulting from information and capabilities not being shared among team members. It refers to the number of people who could "get hit by a bus" before a project becomes seriously compromised.
The Concept
If only one person leaving can cripple the project, then the project has a bus factor of 1, indicating extremely high risk. This dependency on a few key developers in a software project is precisely what is known as bus factor in the IT world, alluding to what would happen if those people were hit by a bus one day.
Risks
High Risk Indicators:
Potential Consequences:
Objective
The goal is to increase the bus factor by:
Best Practices
Assessment
To evaluate bus factor in your project:
Solutions
Building Resilience
Measuring Success
Metrics to Track:
Regular Assessment:
Want to learn more?
If you're curious to learn more about Bus Factor, reach out to me on X. I love sharing ideas, answering questions, and discussing curiosities about these topics, so don't hesitate to stop by. See you around!
What is downstream?
Refers to the activities from the receipt of a request to the completion of...
What is an Instruction-Following Model?
An Instruction-Following Model is an AI system specifically trained to unde...
What is the Waterfall methodology?
The Waterfall methodology is a linear and sequential approach to project ma...