A window of opportunity (also called a margin of opportunity or critical window) is a period of time during which some action can be taken that will achieve a desired outcome. Once this period is over, or the "window is closed", the specified outcome is no longer possible.
Examples
Examples of windows of opportunity include:
*The
critical period
In developmental psychology and developmental biology, a critical period is a maturational stage in the lifespan of an organism during which the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli. If, for some reason, the org ...
in neurological
development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
* Photograph ...
, during which
neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it p ...
is greatest and key functions, such as
imprinting and
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
, are acquired which may be impossible to acquire at a later stage
*The
golden hour or golden time, used in
emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is the Medical specialty, medical speciality concerned with the care of illnesses or Injury, injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (often called “ER doctors” in the United States) continuous ...
to describe the period following traumatic injury in which life-saving treatment is likely to be successful
*
Market opportunities, in which one may be positioned to take advantage of a gap in a particular
market,
the timing of which may depend on the activities of customers, competitors, and other market context factors
*
Planting
Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area.
Plants which are usually sown
Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...
and
harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...
ing seasons, in agriculture, which are generally timed to maximize crop yields
*Space
launch and
maneuver windows, which are determined by
orbital dynamics and mission goals and constrained by
fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy b ...
/
delta-v
Delta-''v'' (more known as " change in velocity"), symbolized as ∆''v'' and pronounced ''delta-vee'', as used in spacecraft flight dynamics, is a measure of the impulse per unit of spacecraft mass that is needed to perform a maneuver such a ...
budgets
*The theorized
tipping point in climatology, after which the Earth's climate is predicted to shift to a new stable equilibrium
*Various
transient astronomical events, which present limited (and often unpredictable) windows for observation
Characteristics
Timing
The timing and length of a critical window may be well known and predictable (as in
planetary transits) or more poorly understood (in the case of medical emergencies or
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
). In some cases, there may be multiple windows during which a goal can be achieved, as in the case of space launch windows.
Costs
In some time-critical situations, failure to act may entail a continuously increasing cost over time, or a continuously decreasing probability over time of achieving the desired outcome. This may be represented in real-time computing systems by
time-utility functions.
Automation
In situations with very brief or unpredictable windows of opportunity,
automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
may be employed to take advantage of these windows, as in
algorithmic trading
Algorithmic trading is a method of executing orders using automated pre-programmed trading instructions accounting for variables such as time, price, and volume. This type of trading attempts to leverage the speed and computational resources of ...
and time-domain astronomy.
Real-time computing
Real-time computing (RTC) is the computer science term for hardware and software systems subject to a "real-time constraint", for example from event to system response. Real-time programs must guarantee response within specified time constrai ...
systems can guarantee responses on the order of milliseconds or less.
Artificial windows of opportunity
Critical windows for making purchases may be artificially imposed (or even falsely implied) as a
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
tactic to encourage action, in what is known as a "
limited time offer".
See also
*
Planning
Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is c ...
**
Automated planning and scheduling
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
, in artificial intelligence
*
Point of no return
The point of no return (PNR or PONR) is the point beyond which one must continue on one's current course of action because turning back is dangerous, physically impossible or difficult, or prohibitively expensive. The point of no return can be a ...
*
Response time
Response time may refer to:
*The time lag between an electronic input and the output signal which depends upon the value of passive components used.
* Responsiveness, how quickly an interactive system responds to user input
* Response time (biolog ...
*
Target of opportunity, in combat
*
Time limit
A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...
References
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[{{cite web , title=Automated operations , url=https://www.swift.psu.edu/xrt/software.php , website=Mission Operations Center for Swift , publisher=]Pennsylvania State University
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Time
Causes of events
Intention
Planning
Business terms
Broad-concept articles
Emergency medicine
Developmental biology
Spaceflight concepts
Real-time computing
Climatology
Observational astronomy