Pareto Chart: What It Is and How to Use It

Quick answer

A Pareto chart sorts causes by frequency (bars) with a cumulative line — the 80/20 visual that shows which few causes deserve the fix.

Reading it

Bars descending by count, cumulative % line — the first few bars that reach 80% are the vital few.

In quality work

Classify defects/issues by type, count them — fix the biggest category first, not the loudest.

Example

Of 200 defects: documentation errors 80, integration 60, config 30, rest 30 — fixing two types kills 70%.

Caveat

Frequency isn’t severity — a rare catastrophic issue outranks a common trivial one.

Bottom line

A Pareto chart sorts causes by frequency (bars) with a cumulative line — the 80/20 visual that shows which few causes deserve the fix.

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