Putnam's Law
Updated 2026-08-22
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Often stated as the observation that nine women cannot produce a baby in one month, this principle holds that processes with an inherent sequence or maturation period cannot be accelerated by adding people or money. Software projects illustrate the point, since coordination overhead grows with team size and can slow delivery rather than speed it. The principle overlaps with Brooks's Law and with the notion of irreducible gestation periods. Key qualification: the constraint applies to inherently sequential processes, and many tasks can be parallelized.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Test for sequence: ask whether the steps must occur in order before adding resources. - Accept the floor: identify the minimum time the process requires regardless of budget. - Parallelize the rest: separate the parts that genuinely can run at the same time.
Anchor fast decisions
Some processes depend on a fixed sequence of stages in which each stage requires the previous one to complete. Adding people to a sequential process does not shorten the stages and introduces coordination costs, which can make the total time longer. The constraint is structural, so resources cannot substitute for time.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putnam_modelverified
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