Assignable or special variations are those effects on a process that are not built in.

Causes of the assignable variations are unpredictable and can be directly identified
and corrected (particularly when the time they occur is identified) to bring the
process into control. Assignable variation can be traced to a specific reason.
Factors such as machine wear, incorrect machine settings, fatigued or untrained
workers or issues related to raw material are all potential sources of assignable
variation. The objective of management is to identify and eliminate assignable
variations so that processes will remain in control. The Control Charts are important
statistical tools employed for filtering the assignable causes from the natural
variations and help stabilize the process