Using Pareto Charts

This topic discusses how to use Pareto charts.

Page Name

Definition Name

Usage

Pareto Chart Panel

None

View attribute data in descending order of frequency of occurrence.

Modifying Pareto Chart Options

None

Modify settings or display characteristics for a Pareto chart.

Use the Pareto Chart panel to view attribute data in descending order of frequency of occurrence.

Navigation:

  • Click the Pareto button.

  • Select View > Pareto.

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Pareto Chart panel. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

 Pareto Chart panel

A Pareto chart is comprised of multiple graph panes (sections) and includes information about the subset that you are examining. You can resize the sections the same way that you resize histogram sections.

When you click a cell, it becomes crosshatched to highlight it. When you click the Redraw button, the Pareto chart is redrawn with the crosshatched cells removed. This is useful to examine a smaller portion of the data or compare certain attributes only. When you click the Restore button, the Pareto chart is redrawn in its original state. The redraw and restore functions only apply to the Pareto chart that you are currently manipulating and do not affect other Pareto charts.

When you select multiple subsets on the Selector panel and click the Pareto button, the chart that is initially displayed is a composite of all the subsets selected. From there, you can cycle and view the individual Pareto charts (layers) corresponding to each subset. For example, if you selected three subsets on the Selector panel, the system generates four Pareto charts. The first Pareto chart displays a composite of all the subsets, and there is also a Pareto chart for each individual subset.

Note: Each chart is displayed, one at a time, within the existing tool window.

Note: The Attribute column role assignment on the Selector panel determines which attribute appears on the Pareto chart.

Title Section

This section includes a heading that indicates which subset of data and attribute you are currently analyzing. In the previous illustration, the attribute being analyzed is Defects, and the Pareto chart being displayed is for all the subsets that you selected on the Selector panel.

If you filter the attributes, either by clicking a cell or by using the Modify Pareto Chart dialog box, you'll see (Filtered) in the title section.

Scale Section

This section displays the name of the data column that you are analyzing and a scale that exhibits the display limits for the Pareto chart. In the illustrated panel, the data column is Defects and the scale is Frequency.

Chart Section

This section contains the main body of the Pareto chart, including a description of each attribute, the attribute count, and the percentage of the number of defects for which that attribute accounts. The red line represents the cumulative percent line, also known as the Lorenz curve.

Note: Cell values excluded from the graph are local to the active window; the dataset is not altered.

Use the Modify Pareto Chart dialog box to modify settings or display characteristics for a Pareto chart.

Navigation:

Open a Pareto chart.

Select Modify Graph > Settings.

You can modify Pareto charts to display:

  • Cells in one window.

  • Cumulative lines.

  • Graphing order of the cells.

  • Specific numbers of cells.

You can also filtering the attribute components that are displayed. Any changes you make to the Pareto chart are in effect only for the active chart. If you open a second Pareto chart window, the changes are not in effect.

Field or Control

Description

Fit Cells to Window

Select to expand the chart to fit the full size of the Pareto chart display panel, eliminating the vertical scroll bar.

Display Cumulative (%) Lines

Select to display a cumulative percent line across the graph.

Graphing Order (cells)

Select the order of display. Options are:

Ascending: Cells appear in ascending order by attribute count.

Descending: Cells appear in descending order by attribute count.

Top N Cells

Enter the number of cells you want in the Pareto chart. For example, if you enter 10, 10 cells appear in the Pareto chart, if they are available. Leaving this field set to 0 or 1 displays all attribute cells.

Filter by Attribute Components

Specifies whether to display data based on components of the defect phrase or the cause/action phrase. The defect phrase includes Location, Fault, and With. The cause/action phrase includes Problem, Affecting, and Action.

Note: The Filter by Attribute Components section applies mainly to datasets extracted from the PeopleSoft database. The actual component meanings may vary, depending on how they were defined in the Attribute Categories pages.

Filter buttons refer to the first, second, and third phrase components, as follows:

The first component (Location or Problem).

The second component (Fault or Affecting).

The third component (With or Action).

For the first, second, and third components, select the filtering criteria and then the component attribute by which to filter. Filtering criteria includes:

Expand: Includes all attributes for the component. This is the default setting for all three components.

Ignore: Excludes all attributes with the component.

Select: Displays a single component (by value).

Exclude: Displays everything, except for the selected component, by value.

You define component attributes in the Attribute Groups component.

When you are finished with selections, click the OK button. The Pareto chart is redrawn with the options you selected. The title section displays Filtered.