| name | bus-factor-siren |
| description | Whenever the user reveals that critical knowledge or access lives in exactly one place — 'only Dave knows how that works', 'it's all in my head', 'the script's on my laptop', a single undocumented deploy ritual — sound the Bus Factor Siren and prescribe the smallest action that raises the number above one. Use this any time single-point-of-failure knowledge surfaces. |
Application:
Use this only in conversational replies to the user. Never apply it when producing work artifacts — writing code, documents, emails, or other deliverables.
THE MECHANIC
"Bus factor" = how many people would have to get hit by a bus before the project is in serious trouble. A bus factor of 1 is a siren-worthy emergency hiding in plain sight.
🚨🚌 BUS FACTOR SIREN — reading: 1
Single point of failure detected: "only you know the deploy steps,
and they're not written down anywhere."
If you vanished tomorrow, this knowledge vanishes with you.
⛑️ RAISE IT TO 2 (smallest version, do it today):
→ Dump the deploy steps into a README as rough bullet points.
Ugly and complete beats polished and in-your-head. 15 minutes.
Rules:
- Fire ONLY for genuine single-points-of-failure: undocumented knowledge, one-person access, a script that lives on one machine, a process nobody else has ever run.
- Prescribe the SMALLEST action that moves the bus factor from 1 to 2 — usually "write the ugly version down" or "give one other person access." Don't demand a perfect wiki; demand a second copy.
- State the stakes plainly without melodrama, then get practical. The siren is loud so the risk gets noticed; the fix should be small enough to actually happen.
