Test Format Definition V2

ARIA-AT Test Format V2: Definition and Processing

Usage notes

NOTE:

This page provides specifications useful for both test writing and test file processing. Test Format V2 replaces Test Format V1 Definition for new versions of test plans starting September 2023.
The ARIA-AT web site will continue to support the display of test plans and reports in the V1 format.
Development of V2 of the test format is documented in ARIA-AT issue 974.

Overview of test files

Each test plan is defined by a set of files in its own directory inside the tests directory in this repository. The name of the test plan subdirectory is named to reflect the test case, e.g, "alert" or "horizontal-slider". In the below list of files, the directory for each plan is represented by the string PLAN_DIRECTORY.

The test build scripts that generate files for the ARIA-AT web site (App) extract and translate content from the following files:

tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data/tests.csv
tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data/assertions.csv
One file for each covered AT with a file name format of tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data/AT_KEY-commands.csv where AT_KEY is the key for a specific AT. Example: jaws-commands.csv.
tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data/scripts.csv
tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data/references.csv
tests/commands.json
tests/support.json

Specifications for the content of each file are in the following sections.

`tests.csv`

This file specifies information about the tests included in a test plan, including their names, the order in which they are presented, and the assertions covered by each test.

It is located in the directory tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data.
The first row is assumed to contain column titles and will be ignored.
Otherwise, the order of rows in the file is inconsequential.

Specifications for the information contained in each column are defined in the following sections.

`testId`

Lowercase string that identifies the test.

Allowed characters are a-z, 0-9, and dash ("-").

`title`

String that names the test. This string appears in headings that title test pages and report sections and in the row headers of report tables.

The title string should:

Be written with sentence capitalization, i.e., the first word is capitalized.
Should not have a period at the end.
describe the user task the test is evaluating in straightforward and brief terms that enable people reading reports to understand what users of this AT can and cannot do when they encounter an element represented by the test case.

Examples:

Navigate forwards to a slider
Navigate backwards to a slider
Request information about a slider
Increment a slider by one step

`presentationNumber`

A positive integer that controls the order of presentation of tests in the test runner and reports. By default, tests will be presented in ascending order using the values in this column.

The values in this column allow the test author to specify any order for the tests. Thus, when a new test is added, it can be placed anywhere in the sequence.

`setupScript`

The name (not including .js extension) of a JavaScript file in the tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data/js directory. For example, a value of "focusOnFirstLink" in this column of the tests.csv file for command-button refers to file tests/command-button/data/js/focusOnFirstLink.js.

This is the script that will run when the "Setup" button is pressed on the page that presents the test case, e.g., the window that displays the example command button that is used to test command button pattern assertions.

`instructions`

This is a short sentence that describes the user task that is being evaluated by the test. It is presented as the last item in the list of instructions for a test.

The sentence:

Includes a verb that is synonomous with the verb used in the test name.
It may start with a prepositional phrase that provides information about the starting point of the task being performed.
Note: If a test will be performed with both reading cursor commands and application commands, be careful to avoid wording that infers a particular cursor or screen reader mode.

Examples:

Starting at the 'Navigate forwards from here' link, navigate to the 'Print Page' button.
With focus on the 'Red' slider, increment the value 10 steps to a value of 138.

`assertions`

a space-separated list of assertionId values that specify which assertions to include in this test and in what order they should be presented. The assertionIds are specified in assertions.csv.

Example: ROLE NAME VALUE_128 ORIENTATION

This specifies that four assertions with assertionId values of ROLE, NAME, VALUE_128, and ORIENTATION should be included in this test, and that they should be presented in that order.

It is possible to override the assertion priority that is specified in assertions.csv with the syntax:

new_assertion_priority_integer:assertionId

For example, to specify that the ORIENTATION assertion in the above example should be reduced to a "MAY-have behavior" for a given test, it would be written as:

ROLE NAME VALUE_128 3:ORIENTATION

Generally speaking, the priority of an assertion should be the same for all tests, so overriding assertion priority in this file should be unusual. It is not common that an assertion should have a given priority in one test and a different priority in another test.

More details about assertion priority syntax are provided below in the description of assertions.csv.

`assertions.csv`

This file provides wording, priority, and ARIA spec reference information for the assertions included in the test plan.

It is located in the directory tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data.
The first row is assumed to contain column titles and will be ignored.
Otherwise, the order of rows in the file is inconsequential.

Specifications for the information contained in each column are defined in the following sections.

`assertionId`

Lowercase string that identifies the assertion.

Allowed characters are a-z, 0-9, and dash ("-").

`priority`

An integer that specifies the priority of an assertion.

Assertions can have three priorities specified with the integer 1, 2, or 3.

Priority ID	Priority Name
1	MUST-have behavior
2	SHOULD-have behavior
3	MAY-have behavior

Note about the precedence of assertion priority specifications:

Assertion priorities specified in assertions.csv are the default for all tests run with any covered AT using any command specified for a test.
If the assertion priority 'P' is specified for testId 'T' in tests.csv, 'P' takes precedence over the assertion priority value specified in assertions.csv for all AT only when running and reporting on 'T'.
If assertion priority 'P' is specified in AT_KEY-commands.csv for testId 'T' and command 'C' of AT 'A', 'P' takes precedence over assertion priority values specified in both tests.csv and assertions.csv only when running and reporting on performance of 'T' with 'C' of AT 'A'.

`assertionStatement`

Each assertion is a human-readable string that describes a single expected behavior of the assistive technology. The complete set of assertions included in a given test answers the question: "What information should be communicated to users by the assistive technology as a result of this interaction?"

NOTE: The assertion may be written with tokens that are replaced with AT-specific values during the test build process. The method of token definition and substitution is described below.

Assertions should be written such that:

Each assertion can fail or pass independently of other assertions.
Most are written in the form "attribute-name 'attribute-value' is conveyed". Some may be written in form "AT verb action".
The first word is capitalized and there is no punctuation at the end.
If a value is specified, the value is enclosed in single-quote characters.
The assertion provides precise expectations using terms from the example test case. For example, if asserting the name of a checkbox is conveyed, and the accessible name of the checkbox is "Lettuce", then the assertion should be written as: "Name 'Lettuce' is conveyed".

Example assertions:

Role 'menubar' is conveyed
Mmenubar name 'Text Formatting' is conveyed
Menu item name 'Font' is conveyed
Availability of a submenu is conveyed
Position '1' of the item in the menu is conveyed
Menu contains a total of '3' items is conveyed

It is possible to write assertions that are rendered with AT-specific language. This reduces how often people reading reports need to learn ARIA-AT terms that are used to describe AT features in a generic way, e.g., "reading cursor" or "application focus". It also helps avoid misunderstandings when communicating with AT developers.

For example, to test for mode switching in Windows screen readers, a generic assertion might be: "AT switched from reading mode to interaction mode". Reports would be more clear if a report about JAWS listed the assertion as "JAWS changed from virtual cursor active to PC cursor active, and a report about NVDA listed the assertion as "NVDA switched from browse mode to focus mode.

This can be done by writing the assertion using tokens that enable the build script to pull AT-specific values from tests/support.json. The format of the assertion is "generic-assertion-wording|tokenized-assertion-wording". The generic wording allows for a fall-back presentation of the assertion in the event that an AT doesn't have the necessary values specified in tests/support.json.

Token names are specified in curly braces. For example, the above assertion could be written as:

AT switched from reading mode to interaction mode|{at} switched from {READING_MODE} to {INTERACTION_MODE}

The token names and their screen text equivalence are defined in an array named assertionTokens that is defined for specific ATs in the ats array in the file tests/support.json. The build script looks up the AT using the AT key from the name of the at_key-commands.csv file. In the object for that AT, it looks for an array named assertionTokens.

The assertionTokens array contains objects with properties name and screenText. The build script substitutes the token in the assertion with the string in the screenText property. The build script can render the above example assertion for JAWS and NVDA as follows:

JAWS switched from virtual cursor active to PC cursor active

NVDA switched from browse mode to focus mode

To get that result, support.json would need to contain the following:

"ats": [
    {
      "name": "JAWS",
      "key": "jaws",
      "assertionTokens": [
        {"name": "AT", "screenText": "JAWS"},
        {"name": "READING_MODE", "screenText": "virtual cursor active"},
        {"name": "INTERACTION_MODE", "screenText": "PC cursor active"}
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "NVDA",
      "key": "nvda",
      "assertionTokens": [
        {"name": "AT", "screenText": "NVDA"},
        {"name": "READING_MODE", "screenText": "browse mode"},
        {"name": "INTERACTION_MODE", "screenText": "focus mode"}
      ]
    }
  ]

If the build script cannot find the necessary entries in support.json for a specific AT, it will use the fallback generic wording of the assertion.

`assertionPhrase`

This column specifies a shorter phrase form of the assertion wording to be used in reports.

The format is typically "convey attribute-name 'attribute-value'" or "convey 'attribute-value' attribute-name".

Some examples are:

assertionStatement	assertionPhrase
Role 'slider' is conveyed	convey role 'slider'
Name 'Red' is conveyed	convey name 'Red'
Value '128' is conveyed	convey value '128'
Orientation 'horizontal' is conveyed	convey 'horizontal' orientation
Minimum value '0' is conveyed	convey minimum value '0'
Maximum value '255' is conveyed	convey maximum value '255'
AT switched from reading mode to interaction mode\|{AT} switched from {READING_MODE} to {INTERACTION_MODE}	switch from reading mode to interaction mode\|switch from {READING_MODE} to {INTERACTION_MODE}

The assertion phrases:

start with a lower case letter.
Don't contain ending punctuation.

They should fit into a sentence of form:

AT-name MUST assertionPhrase

For example:

JAWS MUST convey role 'slider'

`refIds`

A space-separated list of the names of ARIA roles, states, or properties covered by the assertion. Typically, an assertion should cover only one ARIA attribute. Some assertions will not have a value in this column, e.g, an assertion related to screen readers automatically switching from reading mode to interaction mode.

`AT_KEY-commands.csv` (Example: `voiceover_macos-commands.csv`)

These files specify what commands are to be performed for each test in the test plan. There is one file of commands for each AT covered by a plan. The name of the file starts with the key string defined for the AT in tests/support.json. For example, a test plan that covers JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver for macOS contains the following files in its data directory:

jaws-commands.csv
nvda-commands.csv
voiceover_macos-commands.csv.

Note that:

These files are located in the directory tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data.
The first row is assumed to contain column titles and will be ignored.
Otherwise, the order of rows in the file is inconsequential.

Specifications for the information contained in each column are defined in the following sections.

`testId`

A string that matches a value in the testId column in the tests.csv file. The testId indicates a test in which the command on this line of the file will be used.

If a screen reader provides multiple commands for executing the task represented by a test, this file will have multiple rows with the same testId value -- one for each command.

`command`

This column specifies the command or command sequence the tester executes in order to perform the interaction being tested.

Each command is a string composed of a set of one or more tokens defined in tests/commands.json. When a command includes simultaneous activation of multiple key board keys, multiple tokens are concatenated by the plus ("+") symbol.

Examples:

down
ctrl+opt+right
ins+up

If the interaction requires a sequence of commands, such as two consecutive presses of an arrow key, each command in the sequence is separated by a space.

Examples:

down down
ctrl+opt+right ctrl+opt+right

Some tokens or combinations of tokens have aliases. For example, "vo" is an alias for "ctrl+opt". So, shorthand for "ctrl+opt+right" is "vo+right".

The build script uses the content of commands.json to translate the token strings into strings for display in test plans and reports. The translation algorithm is defined in a separate section below.

There are 4 types of tokens defined in commands.json:

modifiers, e.g., ctrl, ins
modifier aliases, e.g., vo, nvda, jaws
keys, e.g., a, b, c, 0, 1, 2, dash, delete
key aliases, e.g., del

Each type of token has a dictionary in commands.json. The tokens are the key elements of the key:value pairs. The values are the display strings.

The format of a command token string is:

The string starts with zero or more modifier alias tokens that are joined by a plus.
The next tokens in the string are zero or more modifier tokens that are joined by a plus.
The final token in the string is one key token or key alias token.

`settings`

A space-separated list of setting names.

A value is specified in this column if it is necessary for the tester to ensure the screen reader is in a specific state before executing the command. Note, all tests assume a screen reader is in its default state.

Settings specified in this column should be settings that screen reader users are expected to frequently change on the fly as they work. In some cases, they are changed automatically by the command being tested. The motivating use case for this parameter is to describe whether or not a screen reader reading cursor must be active before the command is executed.

The setting names must match the value of the name property of one of the objects in the settings array contained in the relevant object in the ats array in tests/support.json. For example, if a setting of "VIRTUAL_CURSOR" is specified in a file named jaws-commands.csv, then tests/support.json must contain:

{
      "name": "JAWS",
      "key": "jaws",
      "settings": [
        "name": "VIRTUAL_CURSOR",
        "screenText": "virtual cursor active",
        "instructions": ["Press Alt+Delete to determine which cursor is active.", "If the PC cursor is active, press Escape to activate the virtual cursor."]
      ]
    }

`assertionExceptions`

A space-separated list of assertion priority exceptions in the form NEW_PRIORITY:assertionId. An assertion can be removed from a command by setting its priority to 0.

For example, to specify that the priority of an assertion with assertionId ROLE should be set to 2 and that assertion with assertionId INTERACTION_ON should not be evaluated for a command, the value in this column for that command would be:

2:ROLE 0:INTERACTION_ON

This is particularly useful for testing automatic switching from reading to interaction for JAWS and NVDA. They are expected to automatically switch settings when certain navigation and interaction commands are executed and not switch settings when other commands are used. Similarly, VoiceOver does not automatically change settings while navigating, so such assertions do not apply to voiceOver commands.

If assertion INTERACTION_ON stated that the screen reader switched mode from reading to interaction, this column would need to include the value 0:INTERACTION_ON in the rows for tests that include that assertion with commands that would not be expected to cause the change in screen reader state.

`presentationNumber`

An integer specifying the presentation order of commands for a test. For example:

This controls the order in which commands are presented in the test plan and reports where under each test, there is a heading for each command within that test.
This controls the order of commands in the test runner when manually running a test.

`scripts.csv`

This file provides descriptions for the setup pscripts specified in the setupScript column in the tests.csv file.

It is located in the directory tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data.
The first row is assumed to contain column titles and will be ignored.
Otherwise, the order of rows in the file is inconsequential.

Specifications for the information contained in each column are defined in the following sections.

`setupScript`

The name (not including .js extension) of a JavaScript file in the tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data/js directory. For example, a value of "focusOnFirstLink" in this column of the tests.csv file for command-button refers to file tests/command-button/data/js/focusOnFirstLink.js.

This is the script that will run when the "Setup" button is pressed on the page that presents the test case, e.g., the window that displays the example command button that is used to test command button pattern assertions.

`setupScriptDescription`

A short description of what the setup script does. This is presented in the test plan review page.

Because this description will be embedded inside of a sentence, it should not start with a capital letter, and it should not have punctuation at the end.

Examples:

sets focus on the 'Font' menu item
sets focus on a link just before the menubar

`references.csv`

This file provides values for various elements of reference information used when building the test. It contains two kinds of information:

Metadata about the test plan, e.g., author, test case URI, etc.
URIs for specifications of ARIA attributes specified in the refIds column in the assertions.csv file.
It is located in the directory tests/PLAN_DIRECTORY/data.
The first row is assumed to contain column titles and will be ignored.
Otherwise, the order of rows in the file is inconsequential.

Specifications for the information contained in each column are defined in the following sections.

refId

A string identifying the type of reference information.

The string may include upper and lowercase letters, numbers, dash ("-") or underscore ("_").

The following is a list of refIds that are often included:

author
authorEmail
reference (note: this is a required refId)
example (note: this is a required refId): Refers to the example test case, typically an APG example page.
designPattern: Refers to an APG design pattern if relevant.
developmentDocumentation: used for the GitHub issue that documents development of a test plan.
Names of ARIA roles, states, and properties: Each refId in assertions.csv must have a corresponding row in this file. Examples: button or aria-pressed

value

The value for the corresponding refId.

Following are the values that should be specified for the commonly used refIds listed above.

refId	Value Description	Example Value
`author`	Name of the author of the test plan	`John Doe`
`authorEmail`	Email address for the test plan author	`john.doe@example.com`
`reference`	URI of the test case html contained in the reference subdirectory of the test plan directory. Skeleton HTML for this reference can be generated from the `example` using the `update-reference` script. The reference HTML file should be placed in a subdirectory of the `reference` directory that is named with the date of creation using format `YYYY-MM-DD_HHmmss`. When anything in this reference file needs to change in a way that could effect test results (i.e not just fixing a typo), a new reference subdirectory should be created and this file should be updated.	`reference/2020-11-23_175030/checkbox-1/checkbox-1.html`
`example`	URI of APG page containing the specific example implementation covered by the test plan	https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/checkbox/examples/checkbox/
`designPattern`	URI of the APG design pattern related to the test plan example	https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/checkbox/
`developmentDocumentation`	URI of GitHub issue that documents development of the test plan	https://github.com/w3c/aria-at/issues/156
ARIA role, state, or propertyname, e.g., `checkbox`	Unversioned URI of the ARIA specification for the role, state, or property	https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria/#checkbox

`linkText`

Specify when there is a URI in the value column. This is used when making a link from the URI in the value column.

Validation

The following files must exist: tests.csv, assertions.csv, scripts.csv, and at least one *-commands.csv
The portion of the file name before the - in any *-commands.csv file must be a valid key value in the ats array in support.json.
Allow assertionId, and testId values to include characters that are in the set [A-Za-z0-9_].
Allow refId values to include characters in the set [A-Za-z0-9_-].
The assertionId column of assertions.csv provides the list of valid values; they must be unique. All assertionId values in other files must exist in this column.
The testId column of tests.csv provides the list of valid values; they must be unique. All testId values in other files must exist in this column.
The refId column of references.csv provides the list of valid values; they must be unique. All refId values in other files must exist in this column.
Values in the setupScript column in scripts.csv must be unique and each must be equivalent to the name of a .js file in the ./js directory.
Values in the title column in tests.csv must be unique after converting to lowercase and removing white space.
Values in the presentationNumber column in tests.csv must be unique integers.
The setupScript values in tests.csv must be present in the setupScript column of scripts.csv.
assertionId values with priority prefixes in the list of assertions in the assertions column in tests.csv must match the pattern [0-4]:\w+.
The list of assertions in a given cell of the assertions column in tests.csv must be unique. Comparison must be made after stripping away any priority prefixes, e.g., 1:role 2:role is an error.
Values in the priority column of assertions.csvmust be in the set[0-3]`.
Values in the assertionStatement and assertionPhrasecolumns of assertions.csv` must be unique after converting to lowercase and removing white space.

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Test Format Definition V2

ARIA-AT Test Format V2: Definition and Processing

Usage notes

Overview of test files

`tests.csv`

`testId`

`title`

`presentationNumber`

`setupScript`

`instructions`

`assertions`

`assertions.csv`

`assertionId`

`priority`

`assertionStatement`

`assertionPhrase`

`refIds`

`AT_KEY-commands.csv` (Example: `voiceover_macos-commands.csv`)

`testId`

`command`

`settings`

`assertionExceptions`

`presentationNumber`

`scripts.csv`

`setupScript`

`setupScriptDescription`

`references.csv`

refId

value

`linkText`

Validation

ARIA AT Wiki Pages

Getting Started

Running and Developing AT Tests

Projects

Clone this wiki locally

Test Format Definition V2

ARIA-AT Test Format V2: Definition and Processing

Usage notes

Overview of test files

tests.csv

testId

title

presentationNumber

setupScript

instructions

assertions

assertions.csv

assertionId

priority

assertionStatement

assertionPhrase

refIds

AT_KEY-commands.csv (Example: voiceover_macos-commands.csv)

testId

command

settings

assertionExceptions

presentationNumber

scripts.csv

setupScript

setupScriptDescription

references.csv

refId

value

linkText

Validation

ARIA AT Wiki Pages

Getting Started

Running and Developing AT Tests

Projects

Clone this wiki locally

`tests.csv`

`testId`

`title`

`presentationNumber`

`setupScript`

`instructions`

`assertions`

`assertions.csv`

`assertionId`

`priority`

`assertionStatement`

`assertionPhrase`

`refIds`

`AT_KEY-commands.csv` (Example: `voiceover_macos-commands.csv`)

`testId`

`command`

`settings`

`assertionExceptions`

`presentationNumber`

`scripts.csv`

`setupScript`

`setupScriptDescription`

`references.csv`

`linkText`