Paste your defect or cost data, rank the categories from largest to smallest, and instantly visualise the Pareto principle — with descending bars, a cumulative percentage line, and the 80% threshold highlighted.
Enter your values on the left, then press Calculate.
The Pareto principle observes that for many phenomena, roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. In quality and process improvement, that means a small number of categories typically drive the majority of defects, downtime or cost.
Sorting causes from largest to smallest, with a cumulative line drawn over the bars, instantly reveals where to focus. Tackling the first 2-3 bars usually delivers more than working through the rest of the list combined.
A defect category that occurs often may not be the most expensive. It is often worth running two Paretos — one by frequency, one by cost — and combining the insights to pick the highest-value improvement target.