Attribute Charts - Lean Six Sigma Glossary

Attribute charts are a type of graph that represent categorical or attribute data. They are used to display the distribution of a set of discrete values. Attribute charts helps in visualising the frequency of occurrence of different categories and comparing their values.

Types of Attribute Charts

There are several types of Attribute charts, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The most commonly used Attribute charts are:

Bar Charts

Bar charts are the most widely used type of Attribute charts. They consist of bars of equal widths and heights proportional to the values they represent. Bar charts can be either horizontal or vertical. You can use them to represent simple categorical data.

Pie Charts

Pie charts are circular charts, divided into slices, with each slice representing a category. The size of each slice is proportional to the category’s value. You can use Pie charts to represent the proportion of different categories in a data set.

Dot Plots

Dot plots are a type of chart that represents data using dots. The dots are placed along a number line and their position represents the value of the data. You can best use Dot plots when there are few categories and when the data values are close together.

Stacked Bar Charts

Stacked bar charts are similar to bar charts, except that the bars are stacked on top of each other. Each bar represents a category, and the height of the bar is proportional to the value of the category. You can use Stacked bar charts to represent the total value of multiple categories.

Grouped Bar Charts

Grouped bar charts are similar to bar charts, except that the bars are grouped together. Each group of bars represents a category, and the height of the bars is proportional to the value of the category. You can use Grouped bar charts to represent the distribution of multiple categories.

Advantages and Limitations of Attribute charts

Attribute charts have several advantages, including:

They provide a clear and easy-to-understand representation of categorical data
They allow for comparison of categories and their values
They are useful in representing the distribution of data

However, Attribute charts also have some limitations, including:

They do not represent continuous data well
They can become cluttered and difficult to interpret when representing a large number of categories
They do not show the relationship between categories and their values as clearly as continuous data

Attribute charts are an effective way to represent categorical data. They provide a clear and easy-to-understand representation of the distribution of categories and their values. By choosing the appropriate type of Attribute chart, it is possible to effectively communicate the information contained in categorical data sets.

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Sachin Naik

Passionate about improving processes and systems | Lean Six Sigma practitioner, trainer and coach for 14+ years consulting giant corporations and fortune 500 companies on Operational Excellence | Start-up enthusiast | Change Management and Design Thinking student | Love to ride and drive