How Django Helps You Land a Business Analyst Job Faster

# Create an isolated environment (Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate)
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install Django
pip install django

# Check the version
python -m django --version

# Start a project called reqdemo in the current folder
django-admin startproject reqdemo .

# Create an app for the business area you are analysing
python manage.py startapp procurement

# Then add it to INSTALLED_APPS in reqdemo/settings.py:
# INSTALLED_APPS = [
#     ...,
#     "procurement",
# ]

# Create the database tables Django needs and run the server
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py runserver
# Open http://127.0.0.1:8000/

# procurement/models.py
from django.db import models

class Department(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100, unique=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name

class PurchaseRequest(models.Model):
    STATUS_CHOICES = [
        ("draft", "Draft"),
        ("pending", "Pending approval"),
        ("approved", "Approved"),
        ("rejected", "Rejected"),
    ]
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    department = models.ForeignKey(Department, on_delete=models.PROTECT)
    amount = models.DecimalField(max_digits=12, decimal_places=2)
    status = models.CharField(max_length=20, choices=STATUS_CHOICES, default="draft")
    raised_by = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

# procurement/admin.py
from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Department, PurchaseRequest

admin.site.register(Department)

@admin.register(PurchaseRequest)
class PurchaseRequestAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ("title", "department", "amount", "status", "created_at")
    list_filter = ("status", "department")
    search_fields = ("title", "raised_by")

# Then run:
# python manage.py makemigrations
# python manage.py migrate
# python manage.py createsuperuser
# python manage.py runserver  -> open /admin/

# Show the SQL behind the first migration of the procurement app
python manage.py sqlmigrate procurement 0001

# List migrations and whether they are applied
python manage.py showmigrations procurement

# Generate model code from an existing (copy of a) database
# configured in settings.py, and save it for reading
python manage.py inspectdb > legacy_models.py

# python manage.py shell
from django.db.models import Count, Sum
from procurement.models import PurchaseRequest

# How many requests are in each status?
PurchaseRequest.objects.values("status").annotate(total=Count("id"))

# Total pending amount per department
(PurchaseRequest.objects
    .filter(status="pending")
    .values("department__name")
    .annotate(pending_amount=Sum("amount")))

REQUIREMENT TO MODEL SHEET

Entity        : Purchase Request
Business owner: ____________

Attribute      | Type        | Required | Rule / allowed values
---------------|-------------|----------|------------------------
Title          | Text (200)  | Yes      |
Department     | Link        | Yes      | From Department list
Amount         | Money       | Yes      | > 0, INR, 2 decimals
Status         | Choice      | Yes      | Draft/Pending/Approved/Rejected
Raised by      | Text        | Yes      |
Created at     | Date-time   | Auto     | Set by system

Open questions:
1. ______________________
2. ______________________

PROTOTYPE DEMO SCRIPT (20 minutes)

1. Purpose (2 min)
   'This is a throwaway prototype to check we captured the
    right fields and statuses. It is not the final design.'
2. Walkthrough (5 min)
   - Add a request, show validation on amount
   - Filter by status and department
3. Hands-on (8 min)
   - Each stakeholder adds one realistic request
4. Capture gaps (5 min)
   - Missing fields: ____________
   - Wrong rules:   ____________
   - New questions: ____________

After: update user stories and share notes within a day.

PORTFOLIO NOTE (for resume / GitHub README)

Project : Purchase request workflow — requirements + prototype
Role    : Business analyst (self-initiated practice project)

What I did
- Wrote 8 user stories with acceptance criteria
- Drew an as-is and to-be process flow
- Modelled the data in Django and built an admin prototype
- Ran a mock feedback session and logged 5 requirement changes

What it shows
- Requirements thinking backed by a working prototype
- Comfort reading data models and basic SQL

Link: github.com/<your-username>/purchase-request-prototype