The primary purpose of a Pareto Chart is to:

A Pareto Chart is a specialized type of bar chart that demonstrates the frequency or impact of problems in a process, helping teams prioritize which issues to address first. This tool is based on the Pareto Principle, which states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes.

The primary purpose of a Pareto Chart is to prioritize problems from most to least frequent or significant, enabling teams to focus their improvement efforts on the areas that will yield the greatest benefit. By identifying the most pressing issues visually, organizations can allocate resources effectively and tackle the problems that have the most significant impact on their processes.

In contrast, mapping a process provides a flow or overview of activities rather than focusing on the frequency of issues. Similarly, while a Pareto Chart does provide a visual representation of data, its primary intent is not to show process variations but to highlight problems in order of importance. Additionally, while it can illustrate relationships between effects and root causes, this is a secondary function rather than its main objective. Understanding this allows for effective use of the Pareto Chart in identifying and addressing the most critical issues in process improvement efforts.