Samuel Kraßnitzer
No more audit risk: How a reinsurer has made its test management audit-proof
When a platform supports the core analytical processes of an international reinsurer, software testing is much more than just a formality. It is...
Industry
Insurance /Primary Insurance
Background
A leading German primary insurer operates a contact centre infrastructure that enables several thousand customer advisers across Germany to provide round-the-clock support. As part of a modernisation programme, the existing Skype-based telephony solution was replaced with Microsoft Teams.
Challenge
The migration involved a highly available, business-critical platform that operated 24/7. The project had also stalled due to unclear responsibilities, delayed deliveries from the external software provider, and a lack of test-ready deliverables, making an immediate project restructuring essential.
Services
We took responsibility for central test management, from test planning to completion, as well as leading the quality, acceptance and sign-off workstream. Our responsibilities included developing the test concept, establishing defect management and escalation procedures, implementing structured reporting and coordinating all the business units involved across multiple sprints.
Benefit
Despite the project’s difficult start, testing was conducted in a structured manner and completed on schedule, providing a robust basis for the production go-live decision. Full transparency was provided to project leadership and senior management regarding test progress, outstanding risks and overall go-live readiness.
If the contact centre goes down, customers cannot reach the insurer. With several thousand customer advisers operating nationwide around the clock, there is no margin for error.
Business-Critical Infrastructure with No Margin for Error
The Contact Centre Infrastructure division of one of Germany’s leading primary insurers is responsible for ensuring the high availability of its communication systems. The aim of the project was to replace the existing Skype-based telephony solution with Microsoft Teams.
What appeared to be a straightforward software migration proved significantly more complex in practice. Behind the scenes, numerous services had to be integrated, systems adapted and an Azure cloud integration implemented.
A Project That Failed to Gain Momentum
The deliverables provided by the external software developer failed to meet the requirements in terms of both quality and schedule. The project structure was unclear, responsibilities were poorly defined and the team lacked momentum. Testing could not proceed as planned because there were no test-ready deliverables available.
At the same time, numerous business units with widely differing testing requirements were waiting to conduct their acceptance tests. For an infrastructure in which every outage has an immediate impact, the requirements for transparency, coordination and traceability of the test status were correspondingly high.
The Turning Point: Structure Drives Progress
The Turning Point: Structure Drives Progress
The decisive impetus came not from a new tool or a different testing approach, but from a structural reorganisation of the project. New project leadership was introduced, and the project was divided into clearly defined workstreams, each with its own responsibilities.
Test management was established as a dedicated workstream with clear ownership of quality, acceptance and sign-off. From that point onwards, test management operated on an end-to-end basis:
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The test concept was developed and agreed.
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All participating business units were coordinated.
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Defect management and escalation procedures were established.
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The test status was reported regularly and in a structured manner.
his relieved the pressure on the business units. Instead of organising the testing themselves, they could focus on conducting the tests and assessing the results from a business perspective.
The result was a structured, timely testing process and a robust basis for the go-live decision.
Lessons Learned: Structure Leads, and So Does the Test Manager
Three important lessons emerged from this project.
- Firstly, projects rarely fail because of the technology.
The decisive change in this project was organisational. Clear responsibilities, structured project management, and clearly defined roles within workstreams created the conditions required for effective test management. - Secondly, a test manager is more than just a coordinator.
In complex projects involving numerous stakeholders and tight deadlines, teams need direction, not more unanswered questions. The role requires the test manager to proactively establish structure, prepare decisions and rebuild lost trust through clear and reliable communication. - Thirdly, business units want to focus on testing, not organising it.
Taking responsibility for test organisation and establishing clear processes enables business units to focus fully on the substantive aspects of testing. This is not a 'soft' factor; it is the foundation for completing acceptance testing on schedule.
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