Define: "Bus Factor" in Business
Catastrophic fiscal burn
"If you are the single point of failureSingle Point of FailureYou. Specifically you, when you try to take your first week of PTO in two years., never document your secret scripts for free. Use that leverageLeverageExploiting a tool, process, or junior employee until they completely break down. to demand a retention bonus or an immediate title bump."
A risk measurement indicating the minimum number of team members who would have to suddenly disappear from a project before it stalls due to a lack of shared knowledge.
What does "Bus Factor" actually mean?
"How many underpaid senior engineers have to get hit by a city transit vehicle before the company goes bankrupt because management refused to pay for documentation."
"Reducing our bus factor through cross-training and comprehensive documentation is a primary objective for the engineering organization this quarter."
"Our entire legacy billing system has a bus factor of one, and that guy just bought a motorcycle and started taking three-hour lunches."
By The Chief Waste Officer
18 years in the corporate trenches quantifying waste so you don't have to.
Related Terminology
Tired of hearing this?
Next time someone says "Bus Factor" in a meeting, track exactly how much company money they just wasted. Play Buzzword Bingo, generate a waste invoice, and stop the bleeding.
