Alright, so you’re either trying to land your first business analyst role or maybe level up to a better one – either way, your resume needs some solid projects to show what you’ve actually done (or can do). And yeah, just saying “proficient in Excel and SQL” doesn’t cut it anymore 😅
The good news? You don’t need a full-time job to build your portfolio. You just need relevant, real-world style projects that highlight your problem-solving and analysis skills.
So let’s get into some must-have business analyst project ideas that can seriously boost your resume.
Business Analyst Projects for Resume
1. Sales Dashboard & Insights
This one’s a classic. Take a dataset of a company’s monthly or quarterly sales (you’ll find tons online) and do a full breakdown:
- Total revenue by region or product
- Customer retention trends
- Sales team performance
Use Excel or Power BI to build interactive dashboards and back it up with actual recommendations like “focus more on X region” or “bundle product Y with Z.”
2. Customer Churn Analysis
Every company hates losing customers. A churn analysis project shows you can:
- Identify churn patterns
- Segment customers
- Predict who might leave next
Use tools like Python, SQL, or Tableau. If you can build a simple churn prediction model using logistic regression or decision trees – even better.
3. Market Research & Competitor Benchmarking
This one’s not even that technical – but it’s super real-world. Pick an industry (like eCommerce or SaaS) and:
- Research key players
- Compare features, pricing, customer reviews
- Present your findings in a clean PDF or slide deck
This shows your ability to gather data from messy sources and draw strategic conclusions. Employers love this.
4. Web Traffic & Funnel Analysis
Imagine a company wants to figure out where users are dropping off on their site. You:
- Analyze website traffic (Google Analytics style)
- Build a funnel report
- Suggest ways to increase conversions
Use sample GA datasets or tools like Mixpanel. Also a great way to mix marketing with analytics.
5. HR Analytics – Employee Retention & Engagement
Work with a fictional or open-source HR dataset. Look at:
- Attrition rates by department
- Average tenure and promotion cycles
- Salary vs performance trends
Present it all with insights that help leadership retain talent. It’s a good one if you’re interested in people analytics.
6. Business Process Improvement (BPM)
Pick a process (like customer onboarding or order processing) and:
- Map out the current steps (as-is)
- Identify bottlenecks
- Suggest a to-be model with improvements
Bonus if you use tools like Lucidchart or draw your own diagrams. This shows you’re a problem-solver, not just a data cruncher.
7. SQL Querying & Data Cleaning Project
Sometimes it’s not about dashboards, it’s about getting the data right in the first place. Create a project where you:
- Clean and join multiple tables
- Write complex queries (like window functions or CTEs)
- Create a final dataset ready for reporting
This helps if you’re applying to data-heavy BA roles.
8. Cost-Benefit Analysis for a New Product or Feature
Pick a pretend feature (like adding same-day delivery to an eCommerce site) and walk through:
- Estimated costs
- Expected revenue or savings
- Payback period
Even a basic Excel model works here. It proves you think like the business, not just the analyst.
9. E-commerce KPI Tracker
Track key performance indicators for an online store:
- Conversion rate
- Average order value
- Cart abandonment rate
Make it visual with Power BI or Tableau and include insights like, “Weekends convert 30% better than weekdays.” Simple, sharp, and super effective.
10. Survey Analysis & Recommendations
Grab some survey data (employee feedback, customer satisfaction, NPS) and:
- Clean and analyze responses
- Visualize patterns
- Provide action items
It’s a good way to show your qualitative + quantitative analysis skills in one go.
Final Thoughts
If you’re serious about becoming a business analyst, your resume should tell stories – stories of how you took messy data, figured stuff out, and made recommendations that actually matter.
Even if you haven’t worked in a company yet, build personal projects that feel real. Use public datasets or even fake your own (just keep it realistic). What matters most is how you think, not where the data came from.
And hey – if you want help polishing the writeup for one of your projects or turning it into a killer portfolio piece, I got you. Just drop me a message.
