Chapter 27: Timing Adjustable

For websites and applications that have time limit to do a certain task fall under this requirement. On a banking website, the session for logged in user expires after certain period of inactivity. For an airline booking, an itinerary chosen by the user can be holed for only for some time within which the booking has to be completed. If no time limit is set this success criteria is not applicable. If a time limit is set within which the user has to fill up some forms or read some content the success criteria applies.

This success criteria also applies to the content that refreshes continuously. This continuous refresh or update  can cause user difficulty in reading the updated content with the same speed as it changes.

If a time limit is set for a website or an application!

1. A person with physical disability who takes more time to fill in an application cannot submit it before the time expires.
2. A low vision user who takes more time locating the elements on the screen or to read the content on the screen faces difficulty to complete the action before the session expires.
3. A screen reader user who tries to orient the screen takes time for complete the intended action before the portal logs out.
4. A person with learning difficulty cannot complete the task within the short duration if complex interactions are involved.

The following suggestions are recommended by WCAG to accommodate these situations, except for the situations listed later in the exceptions section.

1. Turn off: The user is allowed to turn off the time limit before encountering it; or
2. Adjust: The user is allowed to adjust the time limit before encountering it over a wide range that is at least ten times the length of the default setting; or
3. Extend: The user is warned before time expires and given at least 20 seconds to extend the time limit with a simple action (for example, “press the space bar”), and the user is allowed to extend the time limit at least ten times.

Exceptions

1. Real-time Exception: The time limit is a required part of a real-time event (for example, an auction), and
2. no alternative to the time limit is possible; or
3. Essential Exception: The time limit is essential and extending it would invalidate the activity; or
4. 20 Hour Exception: The time limit is longer than 20 hours.

Validating for timing adjustable

1. Open the website or application on the browser.
2. Check if it has any functionality that is time dependent.
3. Navigate to the session or screen by providing the credentials or the required data where the timing is an essential part.
4. Verify if any accommodations listed above are provided in this application.
5. Except for the situations listed under exemptions, at least one of the functionalities listed above have to be made available.
6. If any of those functionalities are provided, consider this success criteria is passed, else it is failed.

Note: This success criteria is not page specific. This one success criteria covers series of pages that are effected with the time limit within the application. In some situations the entire website except the pre-login pages fall under this success criteria. In any case it is not required to verify each screen on the website for conformance.

WCAG Success Criteria

2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (Level A)