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Based on Jakob Nielsen's work, how many testers are required to find 83% of errors during usability tests?

  1. 1

  2. 2

  3. 5

  4. 10

The correct answer is: 5

Jakob Nielsen's research on usability testing highlighted a noteworthy principle regarding the effectiveness of testing with users. It has been established that having around five users in usability testing is optimal for discovering a majority of usability problems, essentially around 83% of errors. The rationale behind this finding is that with the first few users, a significant number of issues will be uncovered because these individuals will typically represent varied perspectives and experiences, leading to the identification of common problems that many users may face. As more participants are added beyond five, the incremental value of discovering additional issues diminishes significantly. Thus, after a certain point, the return on adding more testers decreases, which is why five testers is a widely accepted number for achieving a high efficiency in error detection during usability tests. This value captures a balance of thoroughness and practicality, making it a cornerstone concept in usability research.