Starting an independent practice
Make the first-client mistakes here, with nothing at stake. Interview eight people, dig through realistic data, and ship a fix before a paying client is relying on you.
Start free →A forward-deployed engineer simulator
Master FDE Skills For Free
Free for aspiring FDEs. No credit card. Whether you are starting an independent practice or looking to land an FDE role, run a realistic engagement for a fictional company: interview the staff, find the real problem, build the fix inside their systems, and measure the result.
You verify your email, and by starting you agree that employers can see your results. The simulated clock covers four weeks in about 40 minutes at normal speed.
Landing an FDE role
Your scores, interview transcripts, and the feedback from the people you interviewed become evidence that employers can review, so your work speaks before your résumé does.
Start free →A local plumbing and HVAC company is straining under its own demand. Customers sit on hold, Monday mornings are chaos, and the COO is ready to hire more people or hand the phones to AI.
“Maybe we hire two more, maybe AI answers the phone. You tell me.” Dana Okafor, COO
Your job is to find out what is really going wrong before anyone spends a dollar on the wrong fix.
Eight phases, one honest loop
The same loop a real engagement follows: understand the work, measure it, change it, and measure again.
- KickoffRead the brief and the sponsor’s ask.
- DiscoveryInterview eight people. Query the company’s call, job and message data.
- Process mapDraw what really happens, not what the procedure says.
- BaselineMeasure the current state before you touch anything.
- PickChoose one process, and name a human who owns it.
- Re-engineerSort every step into four buckets, and explain why.
- BuildConfigure automations inside the systems of record.
- Measure and readoutWatch weeks play out, then report to the right buyer.
Built to reward good habits
People who hold things back
Eight characters share some facts freely. The rest only come out when you ask a specific, well-aimed question. Talk about replacing staff and they stop talking.
Real data to dig through
A simulated company generates calls, jobs and messages across four weeks. Browse it in the app, export it as CSV, or query it over REST or MCP from your own agent.
A clock that keeps moving
One simulated week runs in about ten real minutes. Week one is always the baseline, and a deploy takes effect the following week.
A score that explains itself
A rubric scores every phase, names its penalties, and includes how the people you interviewed felt about working with you.
Level 1 · Scenario 1
The sponsor has a diagnosis. You have four weeks to test it.
Tidewell Home Services books plumbing and HVAC work for 52 technicians. The phones are busy, customers wait, and the sponsor has two fixes in mind. Neither may address the real problem.
You will not be told the answer. You will be told who to talk to.
Start Level 1- Company
- Tidewell Home Services
- People
- 84, with 8 you can interview
- Systems
- FieldPro, QuickBooks, phone system, group text
- Duration
- 4 simulated weeks