# Covid and Your Personal Bus Factor

DevFeed: [Covid and Your Personal Bus Factor](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/covid-and-your-personal-bus-factor-28144.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<http://fuzzyblog.io/blog/covid/2020/04/22/covid-and-your-personal-bus-factor.html>)

Author: Fuzzygroup

Published: 2020-04-22T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Scott Johnson](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/scott-johnson.md>)

Topics: [Software Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software-engineering.md>), [passwords](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/passwords.md>), [Processes](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/processes.md>), [Documentation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/documentation.md>)

Tags: [bus-factor](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bus-factor.md>), [covid](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/covid.md>), [documentation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/documentation.md>), [password](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/password.md>), [passwords](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/passwords.md>), [personal](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/personal.md>), [process](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/process.md>), [side-projects](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/side-projects.md>), [software-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-engineering.md>), [startup](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/startup.md>)

## AI overview

The article applies the software-engineering concept of bus factor to personal, professional, and side-project responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It emphasizes documenting processes and securely sharing essential passwords and PIN codes so responsibilities can continue if someone becomes ill or unavailable.

## Source excerpt

In the world of software engineering, the term Bus Factor refers to the number of people on your team that have to get hit by a bus for your project to collapse: The bus factor is a measurement of the risk resulting from information and capabilities not being shared among team members, derived from the phrase "in case they get hit by a bus." It is also known as the bread truck scenario, lottery factor, truck factor, bus/truck number, or lorry factor. Wikipedia I am currently a part of a number of projects with a bus factor of 1. This means that if I get hit by a bus things simply fall apart. Normally I don't worry about things like this because I'm in excellent health and I'm a careful person (and that is not to say that I'm invulnerable but at least professionally my clients accept that we have a bus factor of 1 because they must understand this issue). But the world has changed around me and like everyone else I am struggling to catch up hence this bit of writing. Someone close to me, last night, had both a fever and an upset stomach (both of these are diagnostic factors of COVID-19) and I woke up in a panic thinking about bus factors in three contexts: Personal Professional Side Projects If you're not a tech nerd then you can only read the personal section; if you are a tech nerd then I advise that you read all sections. Your Personal Bus Factors Your personal bus factors tend to be centered around matters of identity: Passwords Pin Codes Process Medication Documentation Here's an example - I don't know the password / pin code to my wife's phone or laptop. If she gets sick then I have to still pay bills and deal with accounts. And without access to that information, well, I'm fscked (and thus so is the family hence my view of this as a bus factor). Now, given the sensitivity of the information on our phones and devices, having access to someone's phone password can be terrifying so I don't normally have an issue with not having access - but these aren't normal ti