Margin of Safety

Overview

Margin of Safety, borrowed from Benjamin Graham's investment philosophy and structural engineering, is the practice of building in buffers to account for unknown unknowns. In a world of uncertainty, systems optimized to the edge are brittle. Robust systems have slack, reserves, and room for error.

Core Principle: Build in buffers. The world is uncertain. Systems without margin fail when stressed.

When to Use

• Capacity planning
• Deadline and timeline estimation
• Architecture design
• Resource allocation
• Risk management
• SLA commitments
• Infrastructure provisioning
• Any commitment under uncertainty