Using Quality Improvement Tools

Pareto Charts

What: A Pareto chart is a graphical tool for ranking causes of problems from the most to least significant.

The Pareto principle, identified by Vilfredo Pareto and often called the 80-20 rule,  initially pointed out that the greatest portion of wealth in Italy was concentrated in a few families.

Joseph Juran used it to define a quality concept where 80% of problems come from 20% of causes - and improvement efforts should be focused on those causes.

Why: Helps to focus improvement efforts on the most significant issues

When: Use pareto charts when you want to rank-order causes of problems

How: