1 · Learn
Concept cards
Each idea is explained as What it is, Why it matters and an Example, in plain English.
THE BA LAB
Learn business analysis by running a company project
Join a fictional company, take briefs from your manager and do the work stage by stage: business case, requirements, SQL, APIs, tickets, documentation and dashboards. Each task gets checks that explain what to fix.
7-day free trial, Google sign-in, no card. Opening the Lab asks you to sign in.
How a stage works
2 · Brief
A task from your manager
“Ana from Ops needs…” Simple words, a realistic problem and the data to solve it.
3 · Do
Work in a real-feeling tool
Write the requirement, run the query, send the API call or file the ticket.
4 · Check
Instant, specific feedback
Good, warning or problem, with why it matters and how to fix it.
13 stages, one project
Join the project
What a BA does in a company, your team, your first week
Business case & problem
Problem statement, objectives, scope, success measures
Stakeholder analysis
Stakeholder map, power/interest, RACI, communication plan
Elicitation
Interviews, workshops, good questions, meeting notes
Requirements
BRD, functional/non-functional, user stories, acceptance criteria
Process modelling
AS-IS / TO-BE flows, BPMN basics, pain points
Data & SQL
Tables, joins, aggregates, data validation with SQL
APIs & integration
REST, endpoints, JSON, status codes, API requirements
Agile delivery (Jira-style)
Epics, stories, bugs, backlog, sprint planning
Documentation (Confluence-style)
Requirement pages, meeting notes, decision log
Dashboards & Power BI concepts
KPIs, data model, measures, visuals, storytelling
UAT & traceability
Test cases, RTM, defect triage, sign-off
Go-live & portfolio
Release readiness, change management, benefits, portfolio
A sample concept card
STAGE 4 · REQUIREMENTS
Non-functional requirement
What it is
A requirement about how well the system works, such as speed, security or availability, rather than what it does.
Why it matters
Vague quality words cannot be tested, so the team disagrees about whether the work is finished.
Example
“Search results appear within 2 seconds for 95% of requests.”
A sample written for this page. Browse the glossary.
Sample check results
Checks are deterministic: the same draft gets the same answer. Each one says why it matters and how to fix it.
- “fast” is not measurable — say “within 2 seconds for 95% of requests”
Why it matters: testers cannot pass or fail “fast”, so the team argues about it after launch.
How to fix: replace the vague word with a number, a condition and a percentage.
- This bug has no steps to reproduce
Why it matters: a developer cannot fix what they cannot see happen.
How to fix: add the steps, the expected result and the actual result.
- A failed create returns status 200
Why it matters: callers cannot tell success from failure by the status code alone.
How to fix: use 201 for a created record and a 4xx code with a clear error message when the request is invalid.
- The KPI “conversion rate” has no definition
Why it matters: two people will calculate it two different ways.
How to fix: state the numerator, denominator, time period and data source.
- Your SQL returns one row per customer and matches the expected count
Why it matters: a query can run without error and still answer the wrong question.
Next step: write one sentence on what the number means for the business.
Illustrative examples. Optional AI review is only available when the owner enables it, and is not required for the checks above.
Practice tools
SQL console
Query the fictional company’s tables and compare your result with what the business asked.
API console
Send GET and POST requests to a simulated service, read status codes and write the API requirement.
Jira-style board
Create epics, stories and bugs, set priority and plan a sprint. A simulation, not Jira.
Confluence-style space
Draft requirement pages, meeting notes and decision logs from templates. A simulation, not Confluence.
Dashboard builder
Define KPIs, pick measures and visuals and explain them. Power BI concepts in the browser: a concept simulation, not Microsoft Power BI.
Requirements and UAT tables
Trace each requirement to a test case and decide what is ready for sign-off.
7 industries to choose from
- Banking
- E-commerce
- Insurance
- Finance operations
- Healthcare
- Logistics
- SaaS
The free trial includes one domain of your choice. Starter and Experience include one. Core includes four and Advanced includes all seven. Compare packages from $19.
What the Lab is not
It is simulated, self-guided practice. It does not grant a certification, guarantee a job or replace working with real stakeholders. Practice work is learner-authored and unverified. Jira-style and Confluence-style tools are simulations, and browser dashboards are a concept simulation rather than Microsoft Power BI.
Try stages 0–3 free for 7 days
Join the project, write a business case, map stakeholders and run your first interview.