About
The origin story
Next year I’m taking a three-month sabbatical in the Spanish mountains to get ordained as a Buddhist. I’ll be completely off-grid.
Preparing for that has forced me to confront every single point of failure in the Mautic project. Who has access to what? How do decisions get made without me? What happens if I don’t come back?
These aren’t comfortable questions, but they’re essential ones. And it got me thinking that most of us are avoiding these important questions until it’s too late.
Most open source projects fail not because the technology is bad, but because key people leave and nobody knows how to continue. The ‘bus factor’ is a polite term for a harsh reality: most projects are one burnout, one new job, or one life event away from collapsing.
Beyond the Bus Factor provides practical, battle-tested resources for building projects that survive beyond any individual contributor.
Who this is for
These resources apply to any project or organisation with key person dependencies:
- Open source projects and communities
- Nonprofits and community organisations
- Small businesses and startups
- Creative collectives and volunteer groups
- Any team where losing one person would cause a crisis
The approach
We don’t offer theoretical best practices. These are resources built collaboratively by people who have actually navigated:
- Maintainer departures and burnout
- Sudden absences and emergencies
- Corporate spinouts and independence transitions
- Governance handoffs and leadership changes
- The messy human realities of keeping projects alive
Your hard-won experience makes these resources better. Contribute your insights.
Beyond the free resources
The free, community-built resources are the foundation. Coming soon:
- Workshops and training - Facilitated sessions for your team or event
- Implementation courses - Step-by-step guides for specific contexts (open source, nonprofits, small business)
- Consulting - Direct support for complex transitions
Interested? Get in touch.
About Ruth
I’m Ruth Cheesley, Project Lead for Mautic - an open source marketing automation platform. I’ve led Mautic through its transition from corporate control to full community independence, navigated maintainer transitions, and built governance structures for long-term sustainability.
I’m also a mitra in the Triratna Buddhist tradition, in my 16th year of training for ordination. The intersection of Buddhist ethics and open source leadership informs everything I build.