What’s the bus factor and 7 ways to increase it
The “Bus factor”, also known as the truck/lorry factor is an important number to keep track of.
In this article, I’ll explain what the bus factor is all about, why you should care (whether you’re a team leader/manager or not) and most importantly, how to increase it.
What is the Bus factor?
Simply put, the bus factor corresponds to the number of people in your team that can get hit by a bus before your project/product/system/whatever is in grave danger/stuck/blocked/doomed.
The lower the number, the higher the risks.
The problem with Rockstars
As a project manager, team leader or manager, you always need to keep an eye on risks. Risks come in all shapes and forms; some obvious and highly visible, others less tangible and harder to evaluate. The risks induced by a low bus factor are sometimes part of the second category.
So you’ve got a rockstar in your team, a Mr know it all, one with all the answers. Congratulations. You’re lucky. Hiring and retaining talented people is incredibly hard these days.
Rockstars are nice to have on a team, since they tend to:
- be passionate
- work efficiently without supervision
