Chapter 3. Dealing with bus factors
This chapter covers
- Bus factors and why they inhibit leadership
- How to remove bus factors
- How to avoid bus factors
Before I explore survival mode later in this book, I want to discuss one of the primary reasons for finding yourself in this mode. Bus factors are ubiquitous, and they’re a huge risk to your projects.
A bus factor can be defined this way: the number of people who need to get hit by a bus for the project or team to stop functioning. Therefore, a bus factor of one is the riskiest.
If you’ve worked in the software industry for any length of time, ask yourself, “Do I know a person in my project who, if they disappeared tomorrow, would leave the project or team stuck?” It’s unlikely you can provide multiple names.
These people (roles) are examples of bus factors. I had a friend who joked that “every successful software company is hiding a “Yuri” (referring to a Russian who is likely a genius) in the basement who does all the important stuff.” Joking aside, “Yuri” represents someone who knows things most people do not, and the company hangs on their word to accomplish a specific task. Many companies have multiple “Yuris.” They’re a huge risk (no matter where they were born, or what accent they have or don’t have).
Let’s break down some of the reasons they’re a risk: