Interaction testing
Test Session Warnings and Extensions
Published by whatisADA / Grow Wild Agency · Updated
Purpose and preparation
Review a time-limited process using a documented test account and a controlled timeout. Identify the applicable timing requirement and any specific exception before assessing behavior. Record what a user can do before expiry and what information survives afterward.
A practical example
A benefits form warns that the session will end and offers an extension without discarding entered answers.
How to check it
- Find the configured time limit and reproduce its warning in a test environment. Check that the warning is perceivable and the extension control is keyboard accessible.
- Use the offered extension and verify the remaining task stays intact. Assess timing against the actual criterion rather than an assumed universal duration.
- Allow the session to expire and test recovery. Record whether reauthentication preserves entered data and whether the user receives a clear explanation.
What can be missed
A visible countdown is not an extension mechanism. Security or server architecture alone does not establish that a WCAG timing exception applies.
Record your test
Use this worksheet to record what you actually checked. Notes stay on this device when you choose Save; they are not sent to us. Avoid personal or confidential information on shared devices.
These are your observations, not automated results or a conformance certificate. A complete evaluation needs appropriate scope, supported technologies, all applicable criteria and relevant page states.
Primary sources and scope
This is independent implementation guidance with original examples. The linked standard contains the full definitions, exceptions and conformance requirements. A criterion or checklist alone does not establish legal applicability or whole-site conformance.