Beginner study plan
39 study sessions from zero to interview-ready
Plan for about 60 minutes per study day. These are 39 study sessions, not a deadline; take rest or catch-up days whenever you need them. Each session combines course reading with a small task so you can apply the ideas. At five sessions a week, the plan takes about eight weeks.
Take each chapter quiz after its lessons and review every explanation, including correct answers. If a topic is new, repeat that session before moving on. The final exam unlocks after every chapter quiz has been taken.
Daily schedule
- Day 160 min
Foundations · BA role
Read What a Business Analyst Does. Start a glossary of 10 terms and explain, in your own words, the need, solution and value in a familiar process.
- Day 260 min
Foundations · BABOK
Finish the foundations chapter. Explain the six core concepts with one example each, then take the chapter quiz and review every answer.
- Day 360 min
Stakeholders · discovery
List everyone affected by a delayed expense reimbursement: employees, approvers, finance, IT, support, compliance and customers.
- Day 460 min
Stakeholders · analysis
Use a power/interest grid and make a small RACI for discovery, requirements, approval, delivery and UAT.
- Day 560 min
Stakeholders · elicitation
Compare interviews, workshops, observation, documents, surveys and prototypes. Choose two methods and explain why.
- Day 660 min
Stakeholders · practice
Draft 8 open questions for an employee, approver and finance analyst. Summarize findings, open questions and decisions; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 760 min
Requirements · types
Study business, stakeholder, functional, non-functional and transition requirements. Write one example of each.
- Day 860 min
Requirements · quality
Improve vague requests. Add measurable outcomes, rules, permissions, error cases and performance needs.
- Day 960 min
Requirements · stories
Write 3 user stories with Given/When/Then acceptance criteria. Check that each is small and testable.
- Day 1060 min
Requirements · lifecycle
Link a business goal to requirements and tests. Practice prioritization, traceability and change control; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 1160 min
Process modeling · as-is
Draw the current expense process. Include decisions, handoffs, waits, rework and exceptions.
- Day 1260 min
Process modeling · to-be
Draw an improved process with swimlanes. Label who owns each step and what changes.
- Day 1360 min
Process modeling · notation
Study flowcharts, swimlanes and BPMN. Explain the meaning of the key symbols using your own example.
- Day 1460 min
Process modeling · data and scope
Study SIPOC, use cases and data models. Define 5 data fields with meaning, type, allowed values and source; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 1560 min
Analysis · root cause
Use 5 Whys and a fishbone diagram. Stop at a cause that can be checked with evidence.
- Day 1660 min
Analysis · prioritize
Use Pareto to rank sample delay reasons. Identify the gap between today's process and the target.
- Day 1760 min
Analysis · strategy
Study SWOT, PESTLE and feasibility. Compare two options by cost, benefit, risk, time and operational impact.
- Day 1860 min
Analysis · business case
Estimate one-time and ongoing costs, benefits, assumptions and risks. Define success measures; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 1960 min
Agile · delivery methods
Compare Waterfall, Agile and hybrid. Explain when each fits and how a BA contributes.
- Day 2060 min
Agile · Scrum and Kanban
Study roles, events, artifacts, stories, refinement, estimation and flow. Explain the BA's role; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 2160 min
Coordination · status and priorities
Practice tracking several initiatives. Write a status update with progress, next steps, risks and a clear decision request.
- Day 2260 min
Coordination · RAID and change
Create a RAID log with owner, next action and due date. Study dependencies, escalation and organizational change; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 2360 min
Testing · test design
Review test levels and types. Turn 3 acceptance criteria into test scenarios and test cases with expected results.
- Day 2460 min
Testing · UAT and release
Practice severity versus priority, defect triage, UAT, cutover, rollback and hypercare. Make a go/no-go checklist; take the quiz.
- Day 2560 min
Excel and SQL · data basics
Learn rows, columns, tables, keys and data types. Practice sorting, filtering, SUM, COUNTIF and basic cleanup.
- Day 2660 min
Excel and SQL · formulas
Practice IF, XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP, text/date cleanup and error checks on a small sample.
- Day 2760 min
Excel and SQL · pivot tables
Summarize sample expenses by department, status and month. Write one useful finding and one data-quality caveat.
- Day 2860 min
Excel and SQL · SQL basics
Practice SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY, COUNT, SUM, GROUP BY and HAVING. Predict the result before running queries.
- Day 2960 min
Excel and SQL · joins and quality
Practice INNER/LEFT JOIN using the department lookup table below, then try NULL, CASE and a simple CTE. Check for duplicates and missing values; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 3060 min
KPIs · choose measures
Study metrics, KPIs, OKRs and leading/lagging indicators. Define formula, baseline, target, owner and data source for one KPI.
- Day 3160 min
KPIs · report and explain
Sketch a simple dashboard and choose appropriate charts. Present one insight, evidence and recommendation; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 3260 min
Process improvement · Lean
Learn common waste, DMAIC, PDCA and Kaizen. Choose one waste in the case process and propose a measurable experiment; take the quiz.
- Day 3360 min
Banking and finance · basics
Review assets, liabilities, equity, debits, credits, general ledger and reconciliation. Explain one example in plain language.
- Day 3460 min
Banking and finance · controls
Study payments, reconciliation breaks, maker-checker controls and financial statements. Explain risks of a bad process change; take the quiz.
- Day 3560 min
Communication · clear writing
Write a short decision email using bottom line first. Record a 2-minute explanation of a process map for a non-technical audience.
- Day 3660 min
Communication · conflict and influence
Practice a response to two stakeholders who disagree. Find their interests, use evidence, offer options and document the decision; take the quiz.
- Day 3760 min
Interview prep · your story
Draft a 60–90 second introduction and four STAR stories: elicitation, conflict, improvement and data. Use truthful results only.
- Day 3860 min
Interview prep · case and mock
Walk through a case from problem and stakeholders to requirements, process map, UAT and success measures. Answer common questions aloud; take the chapter quiz.
- Day 3960–90 min
Final review
Take the final exam in one sitting. Review missed answers, revisit the weakest chapter and explain your case study in 5 minutes.
Starter data for the Excel and SQL sessions
These fictional rows are enough to practice formulas, pivot tables, grouping, joins and basic data checks. Add a duplicate or blank value to practice finding quality issues.
| Expense ID | Department | Amount | Status | Submitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-101 | Finance | $125.00 | Paid | 2026-09-04 |
| E-102 | Sales | $48.50 | Pending | 2026-09-05 |
| E-103 | Operations | $310.00 | Rejected | 2026-09-07 |
| E-104 | Finance | $72.25 | Pending | 2026-09-08 |
| E-105 | Sales | $180.00 | Paid | 2026-09-09 |
| E-106 | Operations | $95.00 | Pending | 2026-09-10 |
| E-107 | Finance | $42.00 | Paid | 2026-09-10 |
| E-108 | Sales | $215.00 | Pending | 2026-09-12 |
Department lookup table for a JOIN exercise
| Department | Approver |
|---|---|
| Finance | Priya |
| Sales | Marco |
| Operations | Jordan |