PRESENTER: This tutorial explores accessible session
timeouts.
We're going to cover what is a session
timeout, accessibility concerns, solutions, and exceptions.
Session one, what is a session timeout?
A session timeout occurs when a user
doesn't perform any action on a website for a set
period of time.
Session timeouts are commonly defined in one of two ways--
one, the time taken for a user to complete
a task such as filling in a form, and, two, the time
since the last user activity.
User activity could include clicking a button,
filling in a form field, submitting a form, et cetera.
When a session timeout period is complete,
the user session status changes to invalid,
and data entered by the user may be deleted.
Section two, accessibility concerns--
some people may not be able to respond or interact with a site
appropriately before a time limit is reached.
Some people need extended periods of time
in order to complete tasks on web applications.
These include but are not limited
to cognitive-impaired users, users
with some sort of cognitive impairment
who may take longer to comprehend and complete tasks;
screen magnifier users, screen magnifiers users
where scrolling and positioning can
take much longer to complete a task; keyboard only users.
Timeouts present barriers for many types
of keyboard-only users, especially
those with extreme disabilities such as users with head wands,
switches, or puffer devices.
Sections three, solutions-- if a session timeout
is essential, users should be able to extend, change,
or disable the time limit, to ensure they
can still complete tasks and make choices
at their own speed.
Web applications or websites that use session timeouts
should include at least one of the following solutions.
One, provide a means to adjust or disable a time feature
before starting an interaction.
The adjustment should allow for up to 10 times the length
of the default timeout.
In this example, users are able to extend the time period
from the default period of 6 minutes using
a button that states extend time to 60 minutes.
Two, in this second example, users
can disable the time period completely.
Three, warn the user at least 30 seconds prior to the timeout.
In this example, a modal dialog appears as an alert,
and it informs users of the time remaining.
Users can choose OK to continue and extend
time or Cancel to log out.
If they do nothing, they will be timed out after 30 seconds.
You must provide the ability for users
to extend the time period at least 10 times.
You also must give the users at least 30 seconds
to warn them about timeouts so they can activate the preferred
option.
Four, provide a simple and accessible
means to extend the time period during the session time.
In this example, the modal dialog
also includes a button that allows users
to extend the time period.
The modal dialog includes two methods
that allow users to extend the time period--
the space bar and the Extend Time button.
Section four, exceptions-- there are
times when it's impossible to allow users to extend the time
period beyond a specific point.
This is generally the case for real-time content and content
that would be invalidated by allowing
for more time, such as an online auction.
It may also be the case for time-based activity
such as hand-eye coordination tests.
In these cases, users should be provided
with other options such as being able to contact someone
for additional help.
Conclusion-- so there you have it, a simple explanation
of accessible session timeouts.
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copyright 2018, California Community Colleges Chancellor's
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