Say it like this
- That's BAU for us now.
- We're back to BAU after the outage.
- We keep 20% of capacity for BAU work.
Use it at work
Planning work
- We need to leave time for BAU.
- How much of the sprint is BAU?
After an incident
- We're back to BAU.
- Everything's stable, so it's BAU from here.
Handing over a project
- From next month this becomes BAU for support.
- Once it's in BAU, the ops team owns it.
Don't say this
BAU is not countable. Say "BAU work" or "BAU tasks".
Don't mix it up
| Term | What it is | Who writes or uses it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAU | normal routine work | UK, India, Australia | separating routine from projects |
| KTLO | keep-the-lights-on work | US tech teams | maintenance that keeps systems running |
| tech debt | shortcuts to fix later | engineering teams | code quality work |
Practice
Try it
4 quick exercises
1. The outage is fixed and everything is normal. What do you post?
2. After the migration, maintaining the new database becomes _______ for the ops team.
3. Which sentence uses BAU correctly?
4. Rewrite using BAU: 'After the incident, the team went back to their normal everyday work.'
Say it out loud
Phrase 1 of 3
"That's BAU for us now."
We don't save your recording. The word check uses your browser's speech recognition.
More about BAU
Real examples(3)
- in sprint planning
"We have three project tickets and the usual BAU work this sprint."
- after an incident
"The fix is live and everything is back to BAU."
- in a handover
"After launch, monitoring this service becomes BAU for the ops team."
More mistakes(2)
Handle with care. Some US colleagues may not know BAU. Say "routine work" if you are not sure.
- ✕Back to the BAU.✓Back to BAU.
No article: "back to BAU" or "back to business as usual".
- ✕BAU (to a US team that does not use it)✓routine work / normal operations
In US teams, "routine work" or "keep-the-lights-on work" may be clearer.
Other forms(2)
- business as usual full form
"After the launch, it was business as usual."
- BAU work / BAU tasks adjective
"BAU tasks take up most of Monday."
Often used with(3)
- BAU work · routine, day-to-day tasks
- back to BAU · things are normal again
- move into BAU · a project becomes normal ongoing work
Similar words(3)
- routine work · neutral and global
- keep the lights on (KTLO) · US tech: work that keeps systems running
- day-to-day work · simple and clear
Opposites(3)
- project work
- incident
- special initiative
Questions(4)
- What is the full form of BAU?
- BAU stands for "business as usual".
- What is BAU work in IT?
- Routine work that keeps things running: support tickets, small fixes, maintenance and monitoring.
- What does 'back to BAU' mean?
- That things are normal again after a problem, an incident or a busy launch.
- Is BAU used in the US?
- Less often. US teams may say "routine work" or "keep the lights on (KTLO)".
