Overview
Require timely answer is a Compliance setting on Schedules that prompts the User to explain delays when a Checklist Result is submitted after the scheduled deadline but before the grace period expires. The delayed Result moves into the Awaiting Validation state, where a Reviewer can validate or reject it. The feature gives time-sensitive Checklists an accountability layer: late completions don't quietly count as on-time — they're flagged, explained, and reviewed.
Users must be Super Users or have the following Role to enable Require timely answer on a Schedule:
Schedules: Administrate
Why this matters: For time-sensitive work — pre-opening safety checks, hourly walk-throughs, regulatory rounds — when a Checklist gets done matters as much as whether it gets done. Without Require timely answer, a Result completed 15 minutes late looks identical to one completed on time. With it, late submissions enter Awaiting Validation with an explanation attached, giving Reviewers and reporting a clear signal that something needs follow-up.
How Require timely answer fits with Schedule deadlines
Every Schedule has a scheduled deadline and an optional grace period. Require timely answer changes how Mobaro treats Results submitted in each window:
Submission timing | Behavior with Require timely answer ON |
Before the deadline | Standard on-time submission. Result is recorded normally with no prompt. |
After the deadline, within the grace period | User is prompted to explain the delay (text and/or image, optional). Result enters Awaiting Validation for a Reviewer to validate or reject. |
After the grace period | The Schedule's standard missed-deadline behavior applies. Require timely answer doesn't change how missed Schedules are handled — it only governs the late-but-within-grace window. |
Note: The explanation prompt is optional — the User can submit without one. Even unexplained, the Result still enters Awaiting Validation, so a Reviewer can follow up directly with the User if more context is needed.
Enabling Require timely answer
1. Open Schedules
In the Mobaro Backend, navigate to Schedules and select the Schedule you want to update.
2. Open Schedule Settings
Click Settings on the Schedule.
3. Enable Require timely answer
Scroll to the Compliance section and toggle on Require timely answer.
Best practice: To enable Require timely answer across many Schedules at once, use the bulk Compliance editor on the Schedules page. Select the Schedules you want to update, open the bulk Compliance editor, toggle Require timely answer ON, and apply.
Reviewer validation
Results that enter Awaiting Validation need a Reviewer to act on them before they're finalized. Reviewers see Awaiting Validation Results in the Results page and can validate or reject each one — typically after reading the User's delay explanation and confirming the work was done correctly despite the late submission.
If your Schedule doesn't already have Reviewers configured, set them up before turning on Require timely answer. Without Reviewers, late Results pile up in Awaiting Validation with no one assigned to act on them. See How to validate Checklists for the Reviewer setup.
Best practice: Build a Dashboard widget filtered to Awaiting Validation Results so Reviewers see late submissions as soon as they appear. Reviewing within the same shift is more useful than reviewing days later, both for the User who needs feedback and for the operational record.
Example: a daily pre-opening safety check
Scenario
A coaster has a daily pre-opening safety inspection scheduled for 9:00 AM with a 30-minute grace period. Most days operators complete it on time, but occasionally they're delayed — a guest incident at the park entrance, a maintenance issue requiring a quick consult, etc. Operations leadership wants to see when these delays happen and why, without making "late" the default state.
Setup
Open the pre-opening safety inspection Schedule.
In Settings > Compliance, toggle
Require timely answerON.Confirm the Schedule has Reviewers configured (typically the ride supervisor or operations lead).
Save.
Result
On a normal day, the lead operator completes the inspection at 8:50 AM. Result is recorded as on-time. No prompt, no validation needed.
On a day with a guest incident, the operator finishes the inspection at 9:18 AM — past the 9:00 AM deadline but within the 30-minute grace period. The app prompts: explain the delay. The operator writes "Guest incident at the front gate delayed opening procedures by ~20 minutes."
The Result enters Awaiting Validation. The ride supervisor sees it on the Results page, reads the explanation, confirms the work was completed correctly, and validates.
A month later, operations leadership reviews the validated late submissions and sees a pattern: gate-related delays are clustered on weekend mornings. They re-staff the front gate to absorb morning rush — addressing the root cause that the Awaiting Validation explanations made visible.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What happens if the User doesn't write an explanation?
A: The explanation is optional. The Result still enters Awaiting Validation regardless — the late submission itself is the trigger, not the explanation. Reviewers can follow up with the User directly for more context if needed.
Q: Can I enable Require timely answer on many Schedules at once?
A: Yes. From the main Schedules page, select the Schedules you want to update and use the bulk Compliance editor to toggle Require timely answer in one operation.
Q: Does Require timely answer change anything for missed Schedules — submissions after the grace period?
A: No. Require timely answer only affects the window between deadline and end of grace period. Submissions after the grace period follow your Schedule's standard missed-deadline behavior, independent of this setting.
Q: How do Reviewers act on Awaiting Validation Results?
A: From the Results page, Reviewers can filter to Awaiting Validation, open each Result, read the explanation (if provided), and either validate or reject. See How to validate Checklists for the validation workflow.
Q: Does Require timely answer work with all Schedule types?
A: It applies to Schedules that have a deadline and a grace period configured. Schedules without time bounds (e.g., open-ended Ad Hoc Slots) don't have a "late" state for the setting to act on.
Q: Where can I see how often submissions are late?
A: The Results page can be filtered by validation state to show all Awaiting Validation and validated-late submissions. For ongoing tracking, build a Dashboard widget filtered to Awaiting Validation or to validated-late Results, broken down by Schedule or Location.