{{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 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 in neurological development, during which neuroplasticity is greatest and key functions, such as imprinting and language, are acquired which may be impossible to acquire at a later stage<ref name="Robson"/> *The golden hour or golden time, used in 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, in which one may be positioned to take advantage of a gap in a particular market,<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, a critical window for consumers that is artificially imposed (or even falsely implied) as a marketing tactic to encourage action<ref name="adage"/>
===Other examples=== *Planting and harvesting 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/delta-v budgets<ref name="Heiney"/><ref name="Wheeler"/> *The theorized tipping point in climatology, after which the Earth's climate is predicted to shift to a new stable equilibrium<ref name="ipcc"/> *Various transient astronomical events, 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 transits) or more poorly understood (as in medical emergencies or 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 may be employed to take advantage of these windows, as in automated processing of financial transactions<ref name="Lin"/> and 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 systems, this may be represented by time-utility functions.
==See also== *Planning **Automated planning and scheduling, in artificial intelligence *Point of no return *Response time *Target of opportunity, in combat *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 |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 |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