Monthly Method Spotlight: 80/20 Rule

80/20 Rule

What: The  80/20 Rule or Pareto principle is named after economist Vilfredo Pareto and specifies an unequal relationship between inputs and outputs. The principle states that 20% of the invested input is responsible for 80% of the results obtained.

When/why: The 80/20 rule can used in helping you make decisions in your user experience work. Wherever there is data that can be quantified there’s the possibility that you can use this rule to focus your efforts on the areas of your work that bring the most results.

How: For example, 80/20 can be applied to website usability. Analyze data to determine your website’s 20% most-used functions and concentrate on enhancing these functions. Don’t spend too much time optimizing stuff that falls in the 80% that’s not often used

Tips: When using the 80/20 rule in UX research to be mindful of sample or data size. You need to ensure that your research or analysis covers a sufficient sample size to be statistically relevant. 80/20 is a quick & dirty method and is by no means exacting in its results.

Interested in using/applying these methods in your work? Contact us for information.