The Pareto diagram is a graphical
overview of process problems in ranking order from the most frequent, down to
the least frequent. It illustrates the frequency of fault or defect types.
Using a Pareto, you can decide which is the most serious or frequent offender.
The principle was developed by Vilfredo Pareto. The
basic underlying rule behind the Pareto principle is that in almost every case,
80% of the total problems incurred are caused by 20% of the problem causes.
Therefore, by concentrating on the major problems first, you can eliminate the
majority of your problems. The few problems that occur most often result in the
majority of your defects. You may also have many occasional problems that cause
the occasional defect. This is called the "vital few over the trivial
many" rule.
·
The
X axis represents problems category
·
The
Y axis represents Frequency of problem
·
The
cumulative percentage line is from 0 to 100%, the line actually states
improvement.
This is a simple example of a Pareto
diagram using sample data showing the relative frequency of causes for errors
on websites. It enables you to see what 20% of cases are causing 80% of the
problems and where efforts should be focused to achieve the greatest improvement.
From the figure it can be said that 63%
website problems can be reduced if spelling error is minimized.
