Last Updated on 9. July 2026
Test management is something that most teams know they need, but nobody wants to take ownership of. Test cases end up in spreadsheets, communicated via email, or tucked into a ticket comment. This system works — until it doesn’t.
Patrick Kipp, a business analyst and test manager at Köln Assekuranz (KA), knows this firsthand. In the latest episode of our podcast, Industrieversicherung digital, he discusses how KA gradually professionalized its testing, the role of Q12-TMT in that process, and the changes in day-to-day project work.
Joining him are: Erik Schilling, Principal Consultant at mgm consulting partners, and Oliver Storch, Product Manager for Q12-TMT at mgm technology partners.
You can listen to the full conversation below (in German), or read on for the key takeaways.
Where It Started: Testing by Gut Feel
When Patrick Kipp joined KA, the testing process was similar to what you would find in many midsized companies: pragmatic but unstructured. Tests were documented as well as possible in tickets, Word files, and sometimes email chains. However, when KA launched a major migration project to transition its contract management to the COSMO Underwriting Tool, it became clear that this approach would not scale. Testing had to be rebuilt from the ground up.
The first step was implementing a well-known test management tool with a Testflow plugin. It was a solid foundation but not a long-term solution. When the license expired and a cost review indicated that a switch was necessary, mgm introduced its own tool: Q12-TMT.
Migration without the drama
Switching tools mid-project sounds risky. In practice, however, it went surprisingly smoothly. Erik Schilling led the migration. Existing test plans and test cases were carried over in full. A new folder structure was set up. The testing team was walked through the change with a training plan and an FAQ document.
Patrick’s takeaway was that the initial concerns turned out to be unwarranted. Those who are still hesitant can use this experience as a reference point.
What Q12-TMT Actually Does in Practice
Oliver Storch explains the scope of Q12-TMT, from test case creation to execution and documentation. Two features made an immediate difference at KA:
The first is the Results Map, internally called “Fireworks”: a visual overview of test status showing at a glance where tests are complete, where gaps remain, and where the team currently stands. This makes a real difference in status meetings with project leadership — the current state is immediately readable without having to scroll through tables first.
The second feature is risk-based testing. Q12-TMT uses defined keywords and historical test case data to estimate which areas of a new release are most likely to contain issues and then prioritizes test cases accordingly. In tight testing windows, this helps teams focus their time where the risk is highest. KA is still getting up to speed with this feature, but they are moving in the right direction.
A Partnership, Not a Vendor Relationship
One theme emerges throughout the conversation: the relationship between KA and mgm extends beyond tool delivery. Patrick Kipp and Erik Schilling maintain a shared list of improvement suggestions that feed directly into product development. For example, testers wanted a status between “New” and “Closed” in test runs, such as “In Progress.” The status was added.
This kind of feedback loop shapes the product. Oliver Storch is upfront about the fact that customer input is central to how Q12-TMT evolves.
What’s coming next?
AI is at the top of Oliver Storch’s roadmap. The Bug Intelligence Assistant is already live. It searches through test case history and automatically summarizes error patterns and provides suggestions for the next test run. Next is AI-assisted test case generation directly from requirements, including integration with ticket tracking systems. The quality bar has been set high, partly due to questions about data ownership. But the direction is clear.
The full episode featuring Patrick Kipp (KA Köln.Assekuranz), Erik Schilling (mgm consulting Partners), and Oliver Storch (mgm technology Partners) is now available on our “Industrieversicherung Digital” podcast. Find all links in the show notes.
