Pareto Charts

Pareto Charts/Diagrams

Pareto chart/diagram, named after Vincent Pareto, credited with the 80/20 Rule or Pareto’s Principle, is a bar and line graph to represent a summary of the relative importance of the difference between data. The lengths of the bars represent frequency or cost (time or money) and are arranged in descending order with the longest bars on the left and the shortest to the right. It is a data analysis tool that visually indicates Pareto’s Principle, in anything a few (20%) are vital and many (80%) are trivial. The vital factors are those that matter and deserve our focus. Reducing the largest bars in the diagram will have a greater impact than a reduction of the smallest bars.

Pareto Charts should be used:

When analyzing data about the frequency of problems or causes in a process.
When you want to focus on the most important problems among many problems or causes.
When looking at specific components of broad problems.
Communicating data with others.

References

Rothwell, W.J., Hohne, C.K., King, S.B. (2013). Human Performance Improvement: Building

Practitioner Performance. New York: Routledge.

Tague, N.R. (2005). The Quality Toolbox: Second Edition. New York: ASQ Quality Press.

Google Sites

Report abuse