Skillnaija All courses →

Your Management Query Pack

The capstone project for SQL for Analysts: Ask a Database Anything — a free Data & Tech course. Pass it and you earn a certificate anyone can verify.

Start the course free Download the project workbook

The project unlocks once you complete the lessons. The workbook is free to download now so you can see exactly what is expected.

What you will submit

One document (Google Doc with view access, or an uploaded PDF or Word file) with every query as text, its results, and the findings report. A link to a public repository with a .sql file is welcome in addition.

What to do, step by step

  1. Load the five practice files (sales.csv, products.csv, customers.csv, branches.csv, staff.csv) into a free database on your computer, following the course's setup lesson. Then answer the management brief below. Submit one document containing every query exactly as you ran it, its result (a table of the first rows is fine), and a short findings report. Queries must run without error; state which database you used.
  2. Part 1. Setup and checks: show the CREATE TABLE statements or the import you used, then three checks that prove the load is correct: row counts per table, the earliest and latest sale date, and total sales amount for 2025 and for 2026 to date. Explain any refund rows and how you treated them.
  3. Part 2. Performance by branch and month: a single query that returns, for each branch and each month, the number of invoices, total sales excluding refunds, total refunds, and average invoice value, ordered by branch then month. Use joins to show branch names, not ids.
  4. Part 3. Products and customers: (a) the ten best-selling products by amount with their category and gross margin using cost price; (b) each customer type's share of total sales as a percentage; (c) customers who have not bought anything in the last 90 days of the data, using a LEFT JOIN or a subquery.
  5. Part 4. Staff and credit: (a) each salesperson's total sales and their rank within their branch, using a window function; (b) the total outstanding credit per customer with the number of outstanding invoices, only for customers owing more than a threshold you choose and justify, using HAVING.
  6. Part 5. Trend with a CTE: use a common table expression to compute monthly sales, then a window function to add the previous month's sales and the month-over-month change. Comment on seasonality you can see.
  7. Part 6. Findings report: 250 to 400 words for the general manager: the three most important things the data shows, one recommendation, and one honest note on a limitation of the data or your analysis. Include a reconciliation showing that the totals in Parts 2 and 5 agree with Part 1.

Files to work with

Project workbook (fill in, then submit)The whole brief, an evidence checklist, the grading rubric as a self-check and the link-sharing steps in one file. Opens in Word, Google Docs or WPS.Word · 7 KB

How it is graded

CriterionWeight
The database is set up correctly and the three checks are present and consistent14%
The branch-by-month query is correct, joins properly, handles refunds and is ordered as asked18%
The product, share and inactive-customer queries are correct and use the right join or subquery18%
The window-function ranking and the HAVING query are correct and the threshold is justified16%
The CTE and month-over-month query are correct and the seasonality comment is sound16%
The findings report is clear, reconciles totals, and states a real limitation18%

You need 65% overall to pass. A failed submission comes back with feedback and can be revised and resubmitted.

Before you submit: make your link public

If your work lives in Google Drive or Google Docs, open Share → General access and change “Restricted” to “Anyone with the link” (Viewer). Then paste the link into a private browser window: if it opens without sign-in, you are ready. A private link cannot be graded — it is the single most common reason a good project fails.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to finish SQL for Analysts: Ask a Database Anything before submitting the project?

Yes. The submission screen opens once every lesson in SQL for Analysts: Ask a Database Anything is marked complete. The lessons are where the methods, the Nigerian context and the worked examples the project depends on are taught.

How is the project graded?

An examiner scores each rubric criterion from 0 to 100 and weights them as shown on this page; you need 65% overall to pass. Most submissions are graded within minutes and you get written feedback on what was strong and what to improve.

Can I resubmit if I fail?

Yes. A failed project comes back with feedback; revise the weak parts and resubmit. A passed project is final — the certificate is issued and cannot be re-rolled.

What do I actually submit?

A write-up of what you did (under 5,000 characters) plus a public link to your work — a Google Drive folder, Google Doc, spreadsheet, GitHub repository or video. The link must open without sign-in; a private link cannot be graded. The free project workbook on this page walks you through all 7 steps.

Is the certificate real?

Yes. Passing this project issues a certificate with a unique verification code. Anyone — an employer, a client, a school — can open the verification page and see that the certificate is genuine and which project earned it.

More Data & Tech projects

Ready to earn this certificate?

SQL for Analysts: Ask a Database Anything is free and self-paced. Finish the lessons, complete this project, and the certificate is yours to share.

Start learning free