Pareto Chart

A Pareto Chart uses a column chart to display individual data points in descending order and a line chart to show the cumulative total, effectively identifying the categories with the greatest impact.

A Pareto Chart combines bars and a line graph to show both the individual values of categories and their cumulative contribution. The bars are displayed in descending order, making it easy to see which categories are the most significant, while the line represents the cumulative percentage of total impact. This chart applies the Pareto principle (80/20 rule), which highlights that roughly 80% of outcomes often come from 20% of causes.

When to Use a Pareto Chart

Use a Pareto Chart when you want to:

• Identify the most frequent issues, defects, or complaints.

• Highlight which categories contribute the most impact to a problem or metric.

• Prioritize improvement efforts to achieve maximum results with fewer changes.

• Visualize cumulative contribution alongside raw frequency or value.

Examples:

• Tracking types of customer complaints and identifying the top drivers.

• Measuring categories of product defects to target quality improvements.

• Analyzing service requests to see where automation will save the most effort.

Variations:

• Pareto Pyramid – Uses pyramid-shaped segments instead of bars.

• Paired Pareto Chart – Compares two Pareto series side by side.

Chart Properties

General Settings

• Exclude Global Filter – Exclude the chart from global filters applied at the report level.

• Show Data Label – Display values on top of bars.

• Enable Base Zero – Start the Y-axis from zero.

• Slicer – Enable the slicer to segment data dynamically.

• Show Point – Display point markers on the cumulative line.

• Show Legend – Display a legend to identify data series.

  • Legend Style – Fixed or Floating.

  • Legend Font Size – Adjust legend text size.

  • Legend Orientation – Vertical or Horizontal.

  • Legend Checkbox – Allow toggling categories on/off.

• Line Form – Choose cumulative line format (Curve, Segment).

• Slider – Enable/disable horizontal scrolling for dense datasets.

  • Slider Range – Fixed or Dynamic.

  • Slider Range Value – Set a numeric range for the slider.

  • Slider Position – Default, Left, Right.

  • Fixed Slider Range – Lock slider movement to prevent scrolling.

View Filter

• Filter – Apply conditions to limit displayed data (e.g., show a specific department’s issues).

Category Axis

• Title – Add a descriptive label for the axis.

• Axis Label – Enable/disable category names.

• Label Angle – Adjust text angle for readability (0°, 45°, 90°).

Primary Value Axis

• Title – Add a descriptive label (e.g., Number of Defects).

• Axis Label – Show/hide numeric scale.

• Format Type – None, Auto, Percent, Thousand, Lacs, Crore, Million, Billion, Trillion, Quadrillion.

• Currency Type – None, Rupees, Euro, Pound, USD, Yen, Cent.

• Precision – Display values up to 5 decimals.

Secondary Value Axis

• Title – Label for the cumulative line axis (typically Cumulative %).

• By default, this axis represents the cumulative percentage of the selected measure.

Insights

• Text – Add notes or KPIs to explain trends. Highlight values using asterisks (e.g., 80% of issues from 3 categories).

• Font Size – Adjust text size.

• Font Color – Set annotation color.

• Text Align – Left, Right, Center.

• Position – Place annotation at Bottom or Right.

Best Practices

• Use Pareto Charts to focus on root causes—apply the 80/20 principle for prioritization.

• Keep the number of categories manageable; too many bars reduce clarity.

• Add Insights to explicitly highlight the cutoff point where cumulative values exceed 70–80%.

• Use Legend Checkbox sparingly when categories are numerous.