Tally Sheet

What is it?

Who uses it?

Why use it?

When to use it?

How to use it:

1. Review the steps of the process, or the causes of the problem to observe.
   
   
2. Make a list of examples to observe. Only information you intend to use should be included in this list. Leave some room for unexpected events.

3. Decide on the time interval for observing the events (number of days).
   
   
4. You can use external observation of the process to measure frequencies, or ask users or workers to use tally sheets themselves during their daily work. An observation of every event is registered by a check in the corresponding cell of the sheet each time that the event occurs.
   
   
5. The frequency is calculated by adding up the number of events in the last column. The data will serve as the basis for the creation of a Pareto Graph.

Tips:

• Make sure people interpret the categories in the same way, using agreed upon operational definitions.
  
  
• Keep separate tally sheets for different days, different people, and so on. That way you can look for patterns related to those factors.

  Events	Day 1	Day 2	Total
  A	IIIIII	IIIIIII	13
  B	III	II	5
  C	IIII	III	7

Example: