Reliability, security & resilience · Core
Single point of failure
Also called: SPOF
ELI5
One thing can bring everything down.
Used in conversation
“The founder remains a single point of failure for enterprise sales.”
Definition
A component whose failure can stop the whole system or process.
Here “Single point of failure” means: A component whose failure can stop the whole system or process.
Pitch context
You will see “Single point of failure” in product strategy decks, roadmaps, experiments and architecture reviews when the discussion reaches reliability, security & resilience.
Why it matters: In reliability, security & resilience, the scope can change what data may be used, who may access it and which controls are required.
Sources & evidence · 5
Direct term-level sources and supporting source families.
- National Institute of Standards and Technology — Computer Security Resource Center GlossaryDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-16
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Productivity programmeDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-16
- Scrum Guides — The Scrum Guide — official current versionSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-16
- U.S. Acquisition.gov — Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 — Contracting by NegotiationSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-16
- UK Government — Groceries Supply Code of PracticeSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-16