Overview
A Duration Question captures a length of time in hours, minutes and seconds, rather than a point in time. Use it for how long an inspection took, the length of a weather hold, or the time spent on a task.
Users can time the task with the question's built-in stopwatch, or enter the duration themselves.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Super Users, a Role with Checklists › Modify (or Create, for Checklists you created), or an Administrator or Editor of the Checklist's permission folder |
Where | Checklists › open a Checklist › Add an element › Duration Question |
Works on | Backend (web) to set up. Answered in the Mobile app and RideOps. |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: A duration written as free text ("about 40 min") can't be compared or trended. A Duration Question keeps the value structured, so every Result records the same kind of answer and you can see when something is taking longer than it should.
Add a Duration Question
1. Open the Checklist editor
In the Mobaro Backend, go to Checklists and open or create a Checklist.
2. Add the question
Click Add an element and choose Duration Question. Enter a Title (required, up to 1,000 characters) and, optionally, Explanatory Text that says what to time.
3. Save
Click Accept Changes, then Save the Checklist.
Settings
A Duration Question has no Question Configuration panel: the answer is always in hours, minutes and seconds. These settings are available:
Setting | Available? | Notes |
Title, Explanatory Text | Yes | The Title is required. |
Reference Images, Manuals, Videos, Links | Yes | Attach guidance on what to time and how. |
Question Categories | Yes | Group questions for filtering and reports. |
Action Menu Options | Yes | Allow comments, attachments or Assignments on the question. |
Logic | Yes | Other elements can depend on the duration: greater than or less than a number of seconds. |
Triggers | No | There is no Triggers panel. |
Points, Score Intervals, Unit | No | A duration isn't scored and has no unit setting. |
Answering in the app
In the Mobaro app, the question shows the duration as hours, minutes and seconds, starting at zero. There are two ways to answer:
Stopwatch — tap the play button to start timing and the stop button when the task is done. Tap the reset button to clear the time and start again.
Enter it — tap the time to open Enter a duration, scroll the wheels for hours, minutes and seconds, and tap Save. The wheels go up to 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.
A duration of zero doesn't count as an answer, and every visible question must be answered, so the Checklist can't be completed until the duration is at least one second.
In RideOps, Operators get the same stopwatch, and tap the time to enter it, confirming with Confirm.
⚠️ Heads-up: The stopwatch time becomes the answer only when you tap stop. While the stopwatch runs, the question counts as unanswered, so stop it before you complete the Checklist.
Duration or Date Question
A Duration Question captures how long something lasted. A Date Question captures when something happened. Use Duration for elapsed time and Date for timestamps, such as a start time.
Logic and triggers
Other pages and elements can show or hide based on a Duration Question, with greater than or less than. You enter the value in seconds: for 30 minutes, enter 1800. See Adding logic to a Checklist.
⚠️ Heads-up: Duration Questions don't support triggers. The Triggers panel is hidden, and triggers are removed when the Checklist is saved. If a long time should raise an Assignment, use a Number Question with a unit from the Time category and add a trigger. See Adding triggers to a checklist.
Durations on Results
The Result report and PDF show the answer in words, for example 1 hour(s), 5 minute(s), 30 second(s). A duration doesn't add to or lower the Checklist's score.
To correct a duration after completion, users with Results › Modify and Super Users can edit it on the Result, entering hours, minutes and seconds. See Modify Checklist Results.
Best practices
Say in the Title what to time, and when to start and stop, so every User measures the same thing.
Use the stopwatch for tasks done while the Checklist is open, and enter the time for tasks done beforehand.
Use logic with greater than to show follow-up questions, such as a reason, when a task runs long.
Use a Number Question instead when a time must trigger an Assignment or be scored.
Frequently asked questions
What is a duration question and how does it work?
It records how long something took, in hours, minutes and seconds. In the app, the User times it with the question's stopwatch or enters the time on scroll wheels. The Result shows the duration in words.
Can a long duration trigger an assignment?
No. Duration Questions don't support triggers. Use a Number Question with a unit from the Time category and an Assignment Trigger with greater than your limit. See Assignment triggers in Checklists.
What's the longest duration I can enter?
23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds, when entered on the scroll wheels in the app. For longer periods, use a Number Question with a unit from the Time category.