80/20 rule

What is it?

The 80/20 rule evolved from research carried out in the 1980s relating to portability. It states that:

Concentrating on the top 20% (the vital few) can achieve 80% results.
Concentrating on the bottom 80% (the useful many) may only achieve only 20% results.

When to use it

Any time that you need to make a decision relating to two or more items, for example, when carrying out Pareto analysis

80/20 rule