# Window of opportunity

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{{Short description|Period of time}}
{{about||the episode of ''Stargate SG-1''|Window of Opportunity (Stargate SG-1){{!}}Window of Opportunity (''Stargate SG-1'')|time-critical applications in computing|Real-time computing}}
{{wikt|window of opportunity}}
thumb|upright=1.35|Critical windows in emergency medicine
[[File:Short_Gamma-Ray_Burst.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a short gamma-ray burst, a [transient astronomical event](/source/transient_(astronomy)) caused by a collapsing star<ref name="Niorlab"/>]]

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.<ref name="Collins"/>

==Examples==
Windows of opportunity include:

===Biology and medicine===
*The [critical period](/source/critical_period) in neurological [development](/source/developmental_biology), during which [neuroplasticity](/source/neuroplasticity) is greatest and key functions, such as [imprinting](/source/imprinting_(psychology)) and [language](/source/language), are acquired which may be impossible to acquire at a later stage<ref name="Robson"/>
*The [golden hour](/source/golden_hour_(medicine)) or golden time, used in [emergency medicine](/source/emergency_medicine) to describe the period following traumatic injury in which life-saving treatment is most likely to be successful<ref name="ACS"/>

===Economics===
*[Market opportunities](/source/Market_opportunity), in which one may be positioned to take advantage of a gap in a particular [market](/source/market_(economics)),<ref name="boundless"/><ref name="investopedia"/> the timing of which may depend on the activities of customers, competitors, and other market context factors<ref name="Sull"/>
* [Limited time offer](/source/Limited_time_offer), a critical window for consumers that is artificially imposed (or even falsely implied) as a [marketing](/source/marketing) tactic to encourage action<ref name="adage"/>

===Other examples===
*[Planting](/source/Sowing) and [harvest](/source/harvest)ing seasons, in agriculture, which are generally timed to maximize crop yields
*Space [launch](/source/launch_window) and [maneuver](/source/orbital_maneuver) windows, which are determined by [orbital dynamics](/source/orbital_dynamics) and mission goals and constrained by [fuel](/source/rocket_propellant)/[delta-v](/source/delta-v) budgets<ref name="Heiney"/><ref name="Wheeler"/>
*The theorized [tipping point](/source/tipping_point_(climatology)) in climatology, after which the Earth's climate is predicted to shift to a new stable equilibrium<ref name="ipcc"/>
*Various [transient astronomical events](/source/time-domain_astronomy), which present limited (and often unpredictable) windows for observation<ref name="CFA"/><ref name="ESO"/>

==Characteristics==
===Timing===
The timing and length of a critical window may be well known and predictable (as in [planetary transit](/source/planetary_transit)s) or more poorly understood (as in medical emergencies or [climate change](/source/climate_change)). In some cases, there may be multiple windows during which a goal can be achieved, as in the case of space launch windows.

In situations with very brief or unpredictable windows of opportunity, [automation](/source/automation) may be employed to take advantage of these windows, as in automated processing of financial transactions<ref name="Lin"/> and [time-domain astronomy](/source/time-domain_astronomy).<ref name="Swift"/> Real-time computing systems can guarantee responses on the order of milliseconds or less.<ref name="Ben-Ari-pg164"/>

===Costs===
In some time-critical situations, failure to act may entail an increasing cost over time, or a decreasing probability over time of achieving the desired outcome. In [real-time computing](/source/real-time_computing) systems, this may be represented by [time-utility function](/source/time-utility_function)s.

==See also==
*[Planning](/source/Planning)
**[Automated planning and scheduling](/source/Automated_planning_and_scheduling), in artificial intelligence
*[Point of no return](/source/Point_of_no_return)
*[Response time](/source/Response_time_(disambiguation))
*[Target of opportunity](/source/Target_of_opportunity), in combat
*[Time limit](/source/Time_limit)

==References==
<references>

<ref name="ACS">{{cite book |author=American College of Surgeons |title=Atls, Advanced Trauma Life Support Program for Doctors |publisher=Amer College of Surgeons |year=2008 |isbn= 978-1880696316}}</ref>

<ref name="adage">{{cite web|last1=Morrison|first1=Maureen|title=How to Create a Successful Limited-Time Offer: A Do's (and One Don't) Guide for Marketers to Short-Lived Promos|url=http://adage.com/article/best-practices/practices-create-a-limited-time-offer/294230/|website=AdvertisingAge|publisher=Crain Communications|accessdate=22 April 2016|date=July 22, 2014}}</ref>

<ref name="Ben-Ari-pg164">Ben-Ari, M., "Principles of Concurrent and Distributed Programming", Prentice Hall, 1990. {{ISBN|0-13-711821-X}}. Ch16, Page 164</ref>

<ref name="boundless">{{cite web|title=Window of Opportunity|url=https://www.boundless.com/finance/textbooks/192/capital-structure-13/capital-structure-considerations-102/window-of-opportunity-441-3874/|website=Boundless.com|accessdate=21 April 2016}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

<ref name="CFA">{{cite web |title=Time Domain Astronomy |url=https://pweb.cfa.harvard.edu/research/topic/time-domain-astronomy |publisher=Center for Astrophysics |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>

<ref name="Collins">{{cite web |title=window of opportunity |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/window-of-opportunity |publisher=[Collins English Dictionary](/source/Collins_English_Dictionary) |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>

<ref name="ESO">{{cite web |title=Target of Opportunity Policies |url=https://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/sciops/ToO_policies.html#:~:text=Target%20of%20Opportunity%20Observations%20(ToOs,require%20urgent%20or%20immediate%20observations. |publisher=European Southern Observatory |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>

<ref name="Heiney">{{cite web|last1=Heiney|first1=Anna|editor-first=Jeanne|editor-last=Ryba|title=Aiming for an Open Window|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/launchwindows.html|website=NASA.gov|publisher=NASA Kennedy Space Center|accessdate=22 April 2016|date=February 23, 2012|archive-date=19 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419124052/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/launchwindows.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="investopedia">{{cite web|title=Window of Opportunity|url=http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/window-of-opportunity.asp|publisher=Investopedia|accessdate=21 April 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="ipcc">{{cite web|url=https://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WG2AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf|title=Climate change 2014, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability|year=2014|author=IPCC AR5 WGII|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514034430/http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WG2AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf|archivedate=2015-05-14}}</ref>

<ref name="Lin">{{cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=Tom C. W.|title=The New Investor|journal=UCLA Law Review|date=2013|volume=60|issue=678|ssrn=2227498|publisher=Temple University}}</ref>

<ref name="Niorlab">{{cite web|title=Illustration of a Short Gamma-Ray Burst Caused by a Collapsing Star|url=https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2121a/|date=July 26, 2021 |access-date=August 3, 2021}}</ref>

<ref name="Robson">Robson, Ann L. "Critical/Sensitive Periods." Child Development. Ed. Neil J. Salkind. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 101-103. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.</ref>

<ref name="Sull">{{cite news|last1=Sull|first1=Donald N.|last2=Wang|first2=Yong|title=The Three Windows of Opportunity|url=http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4835.html|accessdate=25 April 2016|work=Working Knowledge|publisher=Harvard Business School|date=June 6, 2005|archive-date=25 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425224941/http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4835.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="Swift">{{cite web |title=Automated operations |url=https://www.swift.psu.edu/xrt/software.php |website=Mission Operations Center for Swift |publisher=[Pennsylvania State University](/source/Pennsylvania_State_University) |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>

<ref name="Wheeler">{{cite web|last1=Wheeler|first1=Robin|title=Apollo lunar landing launch window: The controlling factors and constraints|url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/launchwindow/lw1.html|website=Apollo Flight Journal|accessdate=22 April 2016|date=2009}}</ref>

</references>

Category:Time
Category:Causes
Category:Intention
Category:Planning
Category:Business terms
Category:Broad-concept articles
Category:Emergency medicine
Category:Developmental biology
Category:Spaceflight concepts
Category:Real-time computing
Category:Climatology
Category:Observational astronomy

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Window of opportunity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_of_opportunity) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_of_opportunity?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.