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The "Bus Factor" (Project Health)

The "Bus Factor" is a risk metric that asks: "If the lead maintainer gets hit by a bus (or gets hired by a competitor) tomorrow, will this project survive?" It measures how dependent a project is on a single individual versus a diverse group of contributors.

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🛡️ RISK BADGE: 📊 SUSTAINABILITY METRIC

Executive Summary: What is it?

The "Bus Factor" is a risk metric that asks: "If the lead maintainer gets hit by a bus (or gets hired by a competitor) tomorrow, will this project survive?" It measures how dependent a project is on a single individual versus a diverse group of contributors.

CFO / Business Impact: What does it cost/risk?

Operational Continuity Risk. Projects with a Bus Factor of 1 are dangerous for enterprise adoption. If that person quits, the software becomes "abandonware," forcing you to fund an expensive migration to a new tool unexpectedly.

Technical Reality: How does it work?

Measured by analyzing the commit history. If 90% of code commits in the last 6 months come from one email address, the risk is Critical.

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