Definitions
In plain terms
It tells you when an observation is positioned, but you must still know whether that position represents an event, interval start, interval end, or another convention.
Technical
Observation time is a general field whose business meaning must be declared separately from serialization, event time, availability time, and processing time.
Scope
Do not infer causal availability from observation time alone.
Examples
- A governed dataset records observation time explicitly instead of inferring it from an ambiguous field.
Common misconceptions
- Observation Time does not have one universal meaning without its stated market, source, and time context.
Concept relationships
Related
Required by
Where this concept is used
Evidence and governance
- RFC 3339: Date and Time on the Internet RFC Editor / Internet Engineering Task Force · official standard
Supports: preferred label, short definition, technical definition
Limits: A serialization profile does not define financial event, effective, publication, availability, or processing semantics.
- Fintech Builder Glossary Definition Contract The Fintech Builder · internal governed contract
Supports: variant distinction
Limits: Defines governed platform behavior rather than claiming these policies are universally prescribed by external McClellan methodology.
- Reviewed by
- fintech-builder-owner-approved
- Last reviewed
- 2026-07-26
- Next review
- 2027-07-26
- Record status
- published