Pareto Chart Maker — 80/20 Rule Dual-Axis Bar & Cumulative Curve
A Pareto chart is a dual-axis quality engineering diagram that pairs descending frequency bars ($f_{(1)} \ge f_{(2)} \ge \dots \ge f_{(n)}$) with a cumulative percentage line ($C_k = \sum_{i=1}^k f_{(i)} / \sum f$) to isolate the 'vital few' causes responsible for 80% of defects.
Tip: Paste Excel or Google Sheets rows (Ctrl+V / ⌘V) directly into any cell.
| # | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7 |
Sorted frequencies: x_(1) >= x_(2) >= ... >= x_(n). Cumulative share at rank k: CumPct_k = (sum_{i=1..k} x_(i) / sum_{i=1..n} x_(i)) * 100%.
Chart Design & Use-Case Tips
- 01Sorted frequencies: x_(1) >= x_(2) >= ... >= x_(n). Cumulative share at rank k: CumPct_k = (sum_{i=1..k} x_(i) / sum_{i=1..n} x_(i)) * 100%.
- 02The Pareto engine automatically sorts causes from highest to lowest frequency and calculates the exact cumulative percentage curve (0% to 100%).
- 03Find where the cumulative percentage curve crosses the dashed 80% horizontal guideline: every bar to the left of that intersection belongs to your 'vital few' high-impact root causes.
- 04Remedying the top 2–3 categories typically eliminates over 70–80% of total incidents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sort my data before pasting it into the Pareto Chart Maker?+
No. Even if your rows are unordered, the Pareto renderer automatically ranks categories in descending order of magnitude before computing the cumulative 80/20 curve.
What does the dashed 80% line represent?+
It marks the Vilfredo Pareto / Joseph Juran 80/20 threshold, visually separating the 'vital few' primary drivers on the left from the 'useful many' minor contributors on the right.
Can I use dollar cost instead of incident counts?+
Absolutely. Weighting categories by financial impact ($ lost) rather than raw count often produces an even sharper 80/20 prioritization.