A system scales if and only if it remains coherent under growth without requiring increasing external correction.
This page contains the Scaling Invariant Test. It does not provide advice, optimization, or solutions. It classifies whether a system is structurally capable of scaling. It does not evaluate potential, intent, effort, or future plans.
The scaling invariant is a structural property, not a prediction.
It states that a system can scale if and only if growth does not require increasing external correction to maintain coherence.
External correction includes any recurring human effort whose sole purpose is to keep the system consistent, aligned, or functioning as intended.
If such effort must increase, failure has already occurred at the structural level.
Correction effort refers to any recurring work required solely to keep a system coherent as it grows.
This includes, but is not limited to:
• Supervision or oversight • Exception handling • Manual approvals • Monitoring that scales with volume • Firefighting or escalation • Re-explaining rules or intent • Centralized decision-making • Reliance on specific individuals • Institutional memory or heroics
• Narrative maintenance or justification
If growth increases any of the above in a way that cannot be structurally absorbed or eliminated, the system violates the scaling invariant.
Answer the following questions honestly.
Doubling test
If this system doubled tomorrow, what would require immediate human intervention?
Human dependency
What work must humans do to prevent failure?