Pareto Analysis (a.k.a., the 80/20 rule)

The 80/20 rule is a technique created by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. It’s the idea that 20% of actions are responsible for 80% of outcomes. The goal of Pareto analysis is to help you prioritize tasks that are most effective at solving problems.

Good for Problem solving

Good for Situation Analysis

How it works

List some of the problems you are facing.
For example, you have a backlog of things that you need to get done

Identify the root cause of each problem. Maybe the backlog is because your time is being spent on other people’s tasks.

Assign a score to each problem
Assign higher numbers to more important problems

Group problems together by cause
Group together all the problems caused by spending your time on other people’s work.

Add up the score of each group
The group with the highest score is the issue you should work on first.

Take action