Decision Window: Open, Then Closed

The standard

An irrevocable option boundary marks the point at which a choice stops being a choice, because the underlying state has changed. Without this marker, a missed decision appears as a poor outcome rather than as a closed window.

Criteria

• The window is tied to a measurable state, not a date
• Its end is irrevocable
• Several options remain possible within the window
• Its start and end are named separately

Distinction

Decision window ≠ drinking window: this concerns the consumption of the finished wine, the decision window a choice during its production. Decision window ≠ ripening curve: it describes the course of the wine, an irrevocable option boundary the end of a possibility for action during production.