Postman Expert

AI Readiness - Part 3: Creating an e-book on the use of AI in software testing

• Designed and created an e-book on the sensible and safe use of AI in software testing from the perspective of an experienced test expert.
• Used generative AI (ChatGPT, Perplexity Pro) as a sparring partner for structuring, wording suggestions and creating variations, with all content finally reviewed and approved using my own expertise.
• Developed practical insights into the opportunities and risks of AI in testing, with a special focus on collaboration between testers and AI instead of “tester vs. AI”.
• Title: “11 starke Gründe: Dream-Team statt Rivalen - Tester und KI sind gemeinsam unschlagbar”
• Subtitle: “Wie Mensch und Maschine im Softwaretest das perfekte Team bilden – und warum reines KI-Testing riskant ist.”
• Planned use of the e-book as a basis for workshops, customer meetings or internal training.
• Technology: Generative AI, ChatGPT, Perplexity Pro, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, many years of hands-on professional testing experience, common sense.

Working Environment

• Insurance / Claims Management (Property, Liability, Automotive)
• REST-based ClaimAPI with Guidewire ClaimCenter

Scope

• Further development of the internal REST-based ClaimAPI with Guidewire ClaimCenter as the backend and various portals/front-end offices as clients, and with the following objectives: + increased AI-supported claims processing outside of Guidewire ClaimCenter + and support for all lines (property, liability, automotive).
• Further development of automated claims processing

Activities

• Interfacing IT & Business
• Design activities with documentation in Confluence, Jira: + Requirements engineering (functional and non-functional) + Design of REST endpoints and coordination with interface partners (esp. AI-colleagues) + Identification, design and evaluation of alternative solutions (moving away from a monolithic approach toward fine-grained endpoints, with code reuse across all lines if possible) + Creation / refinement of product backlog items in Jira, i.e. epics, user stories and tasks, incl. alignment with developers & POs during (pre-)refinement sessions + Using AXA Secure GPT when creating / refining user stories (description, acceptance criteria) and designing REST endpoints + Estimation and prioritization of user stories and tasks during Sprint Planning sessions + Coordination and support during the implementation of Product Backlog items + Driving decision making with preparation and presentation of decision-making documents
• Quality assurance: + Test management, including test case creation using Xray in Jira + Test execution using Bruno as REST client and in Guidewire ClaimCenter + Submission of test artifacts for PO approval + Analysis of production bugs

Methods Big Room Planning (aka PI-Planning in SAFe), Scrum, BPMN, EPK, UML, ERM, DDD

Tools / Tech Stack Teams, Confluence, Jira with Xray, OpenAPI/Swagger, REST, JSON, XML, MS Office, Bruno, GitHub repository (reading), Guidewire ClaimCenter, AXA Secure GPT (AXA's in-house GenAI solution based on Azure OpenAI)

Led the end-to-end integration and migration architecture for decommissioning SAP IS-U market communication and transitioning to Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) with E.ON IT Services — covering regulated EDIFACT market messaging, a three-phase data migration (transfer of market message inventory after cutover), redesign of market communication processes, and full GDPR and German energy-market compliance.

• Designed the three-tier target architecture (SAP IS-U → NScale B2B gateway → SFMC) processing 50,000–100,000 EDIFACT messages daily within sub-5-minute SLAs.
• Architected the three-phase data migration: 36 months of historical data, zero-loss cutover of in-flight market messages, and near-real-time CDC synchronization.
• Delivered secure, BDEW/GDPR-compliant integration (AS2/OFTP2, RFC/IDoc, REST APIs, OAuth 2.0, Azure AD, AWS S3) achieving >99.5% uptime, <0.1% migration discrepancy, and RTO <4 hours.
• Applied BPMN to model and optimize the market communication processes.

Technologies: SAP IS-U, NScale, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, EDIFACT, OAuth 2.0, Azure AD, AWS S3, BPMN, Jira, Confluence, Draw.io

• Introduction of service management
• Optimization of processes
• Introduction of an agile way of working
• Introduction and configuration of Atlassian Jira Service Management
• Prioritization of features
• Coordination with stakeholders and the business department
• Management of the backlog and creation of user stories
• Budget management
• Coordination of a Scrum team
• Use of Atlassian Jira and Confluence
• Use of Microsoft Teams
• Working according to Scrum and Kanban

• Optimized the data architecture (Medallion) to better decouple processing steps and improve transparency and reproducibility

• Ensured the technical quality of data processing in Databricks by introducing schema enforcement, data quality checks, and a structured data architecture

• Pipeline orchestration with Azure Data Factory

• Improved and automated the development and deployment process by integrating Git and GitHub Actions

• Technical leadership of the Data Engineering team (3 employees)

• Led workshops to optimize and stabilize the data platform and development process

• Collected and prioritized new requests and maintained the product backlog

• Technologies: Microsoft Azure (Data Lake, Data Factory), Databricks, Apache Spark (PySpark), Python, SQL, Git, Confluence, Power BI, Power Apps, Dataverse, MS Sharepoint, Mural

• QA Lead for end-to-end quality assurance of the Sparkasse & Sparkasse Business banking apps (iOS/Android); design and implementation of the Test Strategy including functional testing, regression testing, and UAT for eID, Push Notifications, and white-label components
• Creation and maintenance of test concepts and test plans in TestRail; structured Defect Management and error analysis; stakeholder management and risk management for the early identification of critical quality risks
• Accessibility Testing according to WCAG 2.1 (iOS/Android); coordination of AI-supported test automation and optimization of test processes to shorten release cycles
• Release Management: planning, management, and coordination of all test activities; status reporting to management and stakeholders; quality assessment of releases and release recommendations in an Agile/Scrum environment
• Challenge: Highly complex build and release process across several Sparkasse institutions; close coordination with the DevOps team to stabilize the CI/CD pipeline and ensure reproducible test builds before every release.

Tools: Jira, Confluence, TestRail, Android Studio, Xcode, Firebase, Jenkins, GA4

• Success: Successful launch of the eID authentication process - quality assurance ensured for 50+ Sparkasse institutions

• Industry: Insurance, Trade, IT
• Customers & Projects: Consulting and selling insurance and similar services
• Main tasks: Insurance consulting (health insurance, retirement planning, wealth building); commercial services, inside and field sales; sales data analysis and forecasting; customer consulting and support; opening a new sales headquarters for private and business customers; business development & innovation management; business use case development; process optimization; stakeholder management; team leadership and training; preparation and delivery of trainings;
• Technologies used: Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Draw.IO, Camunda 8, Java (8, 17,21,25), Git, Spring Boot, Spring Batch, Spring Data REST, Spring Web, Spring Security, J-Unit, Playwright, Lombock, Vaadin, H2, PostgreSQL (16, 17 18), pgAdmin, Docker, LLMs, JasperSoft Studio, JasperReports

Reporting and controlling using Power BI for a production ERP system

• Analysis of ERP data and interfaces for use in Power BI dashboards
• Evaluation and migration of existing reports (e.g. Excel) to Power BI
• Development of an authorization concept for selective data access
• Documentation and training on the use and customization of Power BI dashboards

Label: Power BI, Excel, SelectLine ERP, Microsoft SQL, SQL Server Management Studio

Maturing their API practices on both a business and technology level. My role covers strategy, architecture, developer advocacy as well as hands-on software engineering, enabling both technical teams and business leadership to adopt and act on API-centric principles effectively. Coincidentally, we also establish GitOps, DX and platform best practices with this project.

Highlights:

• Aligning executives with the initiative by clarifying strategy, replacing misconceptions and myths with facts, clarifying the value of existing assets and enabling informed decision-making
• Formulating a way forward for API Lifecycle Management at OTTO
• Driving platform progress and fostering developer engagement by hands-on engineering work towards strategic goals

API Lifecycle Management, Team Topologies, Organizational Evolution, Regulatory, Platform Advocate, Developer Platform, Communities of Practice, Terraform, Kotlin, Kafka, Kong, WSO2, Apigee, Gravitee, Backstage, AsyncAPI, OpenAPI, API Design, AWS, React, Node.js, TypeScript, Redocly, reactive programming, CDC, Golang, Gin, GitOps, DX (developer experience), stakeholder management, roadmaps, workshops, discovery.

Temporary employment

• System black-box integration tests (BBIT, IVVQ): Execution of regression, release, confirmation and conformity tests for safety-critical braking control units in the railway industry
• Software Test Application & Integration: Runtime configuration of software components and libraries, validation of interfaces, configuration dependencies and component interactions
• Test Automation (FEAT Framework): Co-development and further development of an automated test framework for test execution, reporting and result analysis
• Functional Safety (SiL4, FuSi): Ensuring compliance with safety requirements, traceability and coverage as well as conformity with EN50126/28/29
• Test Automation for Communication Components: Configuration and validation of fieldbus (CAN) and Ethernet-based TCMS data communication interfaces (TRDP and CIP)
• Requirements Analysis & Shift-Left (PTC Windchill ALM): Analysis of software and system artifacts to identify gaps, ambiguities and redundancies early in the SDLC
• Test Design & Test Case Development: Derivation of test conditions and coverage strategies and implementation of data-driven test cases (DDT) including reusable test data fixtures
• CI/CD & Automation (Python, PowerShell, Jenkins, SVN): Automation of build, test and HIL deployment processes as well as integration into CI/CD pipelines
• Test Data & Configuration Management (XML): Maintenance and adjustment of XML test vectors and system configurations with automated integration into test environments
• Non-Functional Testing: Execution of performance and load tests to assess stability and system behavior
• Agile Development & Defect Management (JIRA, Confluence): Work in Scrum teams, test coordination, review of test artifacts as well as defect tracking and root-cause analysis
• Error Analysis & Debugging (CANoe, CANalyzer): Analysis of errors and message flows across multiple system levels (application to bus)
• Model-Based Analysis (UML, Enterprise Architect): Specification of SUT/SOW and support for systematic test control
• Process & Test Documentation: Creation of integration and test documentation according to internal quality and certification requirements

The Base Services of DB InfraGO form a central data hub between the company’s IT systems. Common Data Services are developed that distribute data from source systems to a variety of downstream systems (via JMS) and make them available (via REST API). The existing service landscape based on TIBCO is being migrated to DB InfraGO’s cloud-native platform.

• Architecture design and implementation for performance-optimized bulk data processing of several million datasets at specific times during the day
• Technical specification and documentation of business requirements
• Integration of various subsystems (including SAP and Salesforce) through the reimplementation of more than 40 microservices based on Spring Boot
• Migration of TIBCO Based microservices from the Enterprise Integration Platform to the Cloud Native Platform using Spring-Boot
• Establishment of a deployment pipeline using GitLab CI/CD, Artifactory, and automated deployment to a Kubernetes environment with the help of ArgoCD
• Definition and implementation of automated unit, integration, and regression tests

Team Size: 9

Technologies/Tools: Java, Spring Boot, ActiveMQ(JMS), JUnit, Tibco Business Works, Gitlab (CI/CD), Kubernetes (Amazon AWS), ArgoCD, postgreSQL, Oracle, Postman, Hoppscotch, openAPI, Sonarqube

• Development of an AI-powered project organization tool for a civil engineering company that intelligently links project, task, tender, schedule, and document data through a knowledge graph.
• Implementation of AI features for document analysis, information extraction, context-based assistance, and voice-based data capture based on Microsoft Azure AI, reducing administrative effort, making information available faster, and supporting project teams in decision-making.
• Tech stack: Python, React, TypeScript, FastAPI, Claude Code, Codex, Graphify, PostgreSQL, Microsoft Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Speech, Azure AI Document Intelligence, Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Entra ID, Docker, Git, CI/CD.

• Built an MCP (Model Context Protocol) layer for Mwanachama's agency service, turning domain manager methods into callable AI-agent tools. This included a composite tool that builds a full organization design (org chart, goals, workflows, RACI matrix) from one specification.
• Built the chat-driven agency builder (Wakala Studio and API), where an organization describes its structure in natural language and an AI agent uses those tools to construct and modify the live design.
• Added an insights service so an organization can review AI-agent interactions and completed work. Insights from that review feed back into solution design, gated by architect and user sign-off.
• Alongside this, designed and built the platform itself: ~20 Go microservices on PostgreSQL, Flutter and React clients, deployed on Kubernetes.
• AI agents scan the platform autonomously for security gaps and run scripted tests, covering API (Postman-style) and UI testing. The rest of the work stays supervised. No rogue agents, promise.
• Building an AI-native enterprise platform that structures organizational data, workflows and responsibilities for both people and AI agents.
• Models accountability through RACI, allowing human and AI participants to take different operational roles, including Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. AI agents can also take controlled approval roles where the organization assigns that responsibility.
• Extended the organizational and operational-risk themes from my Executive MBA thesis into software, making roles, processes and controls explicit and machine-readable.
• Structures enterprise context so LLM interactions use more relevant information instead of repeatedly processing large amounts of unstructured content.

• Recurring problem in my own AI-assisted projects: requirements analysis, use cases, and architecture decisions can be created quickly with AI support, but remain difficult to follow and scattered across Markdown files – knowledge is lost as soon as it is no longer in the context window. arknet turns requirements engineering and architecture knowledge into structured, verifiable data instead of plain text: requirements, use cases, and architecture decisions form a consistently linked knowledge graph, traceable from requirement to architecture decision – queryable by both people and AI agents. Technically based on RDF/OWL and a custom MCP server.

• Result: Working MCP daemon, Docker image published automatically to GHCR, nine hexagonal modules, eleven ADRs (including an Open-Core licensing model). Requirements engineering and Ubiquitous Language hexagons are active. Public as a Community Edition under Apache-2.0 since 07/2026 (github.com/kogn-io/arknet), together with the Claude Code plugin and GHCR image; Open-Core model.

• Label: Java, Maven, RDF, RDF4J, OWL, SPARQL, Model Context Protocol, Spring AI, Docker, GitHub, Git, Claude Code, Obsidian, DDD, Hexagonal Architecture, ArchUnit, JUnit, AssertJ, Interface Development, Software Architecture, Continuous Integration, Knowledge Management