Bus Factor
The number of people whose loss would seriously threaten a project's continuity.
Plain English
How many people can disappear before the work gets stuck?
In context
Bus factor highlights concentration of knowledge ownership or access in too few team members.
Example
“Our deployment process has a bus factor of one.”
When you'll hear this
- risk review
- staffing
- documentation planning
Common misunderstanding
It is a continuity metaphor and should not be used to trivialize real harm.
Also known as
lottery factor
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-25
