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ROOT-CAUSE-ANALYSIS5 MIN READ

Pareto before you deep dive

Use Pareto analysis to prioritize which defect category to investigate first.

The team has 412 quality defects and wants to start several RCAs at once. Pareto prioritization: order defect categories by the measure that matters, then investigate the highest-leverage category first. The novice move is to deep dive the defect with the most recent escalation. That may satisfy the room while missing the largest driver of recurrence. Step 1 Count defects by category: address mismatch 148, missing tax ID 132, duplicate vendor 49, late approval 39, miscellaneous 44. The team needs categories before causes. Mixed anecdotes cannot show leverage. Step 2 Order categories largest to smallest: 148, 132, 49, 44, 39.…

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