Below is a Pareto Diagram of ‘Quality defects’, according to you which categories of defect should team attack first?
Category A & B is most common answer.
I say it depends! What is the project goal?
Most of us are aware of ‘Pareto rule’, popularly known as 80-20 rule. Does it always mean attack the 80%? Not necessarily! ‘Pareto’ discovered 80-20, but going after 80 first, is our decision. Let us consider two small examples to explain the perspective.
Example 1 : If reduction in rework cost is the goal, sometimes 20% of defects may contribute to 80% of the cost and 80% of defects may contribute to 20% of the cost.
Example 2 : If reduction in ‘Turn Around Time’ is the goal, 20% of reasons may contribute to 80% of delayed time.
“Where do I apply this tool?” is a common question and mistake incurred by many!
Questions lead, tools follow, we draw statistical inference, again Questions lead, decisions follow, we draw practical inference.