Matthias Ottowski - Test Manager

Munich, Germany

Experience

May 2025 - Jul 2025

3 months

Germany

Test Manager

Landesbank Deutschland

Implementation of new limit system for credit risk management
Test framework concept and test concept according to regulatory requirements (BAIT, DORA)
Risk-oriented test strategy and test methods governance
Analysis of test automation strategies
Test environment management
Organization and facilitation of risk management workshops
Test effort estimations
Role concept, resource planning, capacity planning
Support for release concept and release planning
Methods: ISTQB, DORA, BAIT, MaRisk, ISO 25010
IT environment: OpenText ALM, JIRA, Confluence, MS SharePoint, cloud platforms/Kubernetes, Informatica DB, PostgreSQL, ALGO Credit Manager, SAP Loans, ChatGPT, Perplexity, COBOL, z/OS, CICS, ADABAS, NATURAL

Jul 2024 - Jul 2025

1 year 1 month

AI consulting, SAFe, agile project and process frameworks

Training Courses

Training and certification of AI managers and AI consultants
Training and certification for SAFe Scrum Masters
Training in TameFlow and Kanban for product processes
Methods: SAFe, SCRUM, TameFlow, KANBAN, AI, prompt engineering, AI process automation, AI use case development, EU AI Act, DORA
IT environment: ChatGPT, Perplexity, N8N, MS Copilot, Gamma, Canva

Aug 2022 - Jun 2024

1 year 11 months

Germany

Project Manager / Senior PMO / Agile Coach

Munich RE

2 ESG projects for sustainable reporting in an international environment (project language English)
Market risk management – agile transformation with SCRUM
Consulting, training and implementation of an agile-hybrid budgeting and control system in coordination with the client's project and program management for 2 parallel projects of the program
Budget monitoring and forecasting, project change management (plan adjustments) and program reporting
Risk management, stakeholder management, communication management
Support for change management of ESG business processes
Project planning/control and transformation management (agile transformation)
Consulting on the setup of agile-hybrid project structures and leading workshops
Integration of CI/CD of the agile setup into release management
Mapping project structures in the PM tool Azure DevOps, MS Project, Excel (VBA)
Mapping budget monitoring in Excel (data interfaces to MS Project + SAP FI)
Coaching 2 junior Scrum Masters and 2 junior project teams (40 and 20 members) in developing the agile mindset
Project volume 8,418 person-days across both projects
Support for long-term product and lifecycle management
Agile business analysis and coaching in requirements engineering (Epics, Features, User Stories)
Development of 3 TOMs (Target Operating Models) in the target organization
Operational Scrum Master to achieve agile operational stability
Methods: SCRUM, SAFe, KANBAN, PMI, VAIT, KAIT, DORA
IT environment: Azure DevOps, MS Project, Miro, SAP S/4HANA, SAP BW, ALGO One, ACTIVEPIVOT, .NET C#, MS SharePoint, Planview, Excel VBA

May 2021 - Aug 2022

1 year 4 months

Germany

Project Manager / Agile Coach / Multi Scrum Master

Curexus GmbH

Consulting and support for agile transformation
Scrum Master in 4 CRM projects in an international environment (project language English)
Project leadership in a CRM project
Transformation management: developing a shared understanding of agile terminology and supporting agile collaboration structures
Support in preparing and moderating agile workshops
Change management: support for implementing agile process elements and role definitions
Support in setting up agile proposal processes, costing structures and project templates
Support for Target Operating Models (TOM)
Sprint planning, control and coaching of agile client teams (up to 20 members)
Developing solutions for release management (CI/CD)
Agile business analysis: building customer-centric strategies (PEX) and extending CRM processes with AI components
Project roadmap, migration planning, budget planning and controlling
Risk management, stakeholder management, communication management
Support in setting up operational support and member of the steering team
Methods: SCRUM, KANBAN, HOLOCRACY, CRM, PEX, BPMN GDPR, Design Thinking, AI management
IT environment: Salesforce, Agile Accelerator, SAP FI/CO, JIRA, MS Project, MS SharePoint, Draft.io, Retrium, Git

Sep 2018 - Mar 2021

2 years 7 months

Germany

Senior PMO / Agile Coach / Test Manager

Asset Management Company Munich RE and ERGO

Market risk management Solvency II standard formula
BI solution daily DWH (SAP HANA/BW) and replacement of IBM ARA with ACTIVEPIVOT
Setup of agile project structures using SCRUM and embedding in classic waterfall structures
Transformation management: developing agile mindsets and setting up agile project structures in MS Azure DevOps/Office 365
Advising project management on controlling agile-hybrid projects
Azure DevOps integration in Excel including SAP FI reconciliation
Setting up agile monitoring processes and coordinating workshops
Support for business analysis: data governance according to VAIT, Solvency II
Scrum Master in 3 agile projects and agile coach for 3 agile teams (5 - 30 members)
Organization and facilitation of retrospectives/lessons learned
Implementation of an agile test management setup according to ISTQB
Problem management: setting up task forces
Project management office: cost planning, capacity planning and project change management
Quality assurance in tender process for external project support
Member of the steering committee
Methods: SCRUM, ISTQB, Solvency II, VAIT, KAIT, BAIT
IT environment: MS Azure DevOps, MS Project, SharePoint, SAP S/4HANA, SAP BW, IBM ALGO One, ACTIVEPIVOT, SimCorp, .NET C#, Unix, Perl, Excel VBA

Jan 2018 - Sep 2018

9 months

Paris, France

Project Manager / Test Manager

Allianz Partners S.A.S

Build an international Business Test Factory (agile) for global travel insurance processes
Plan and set up a global Business Test Factory for B2B and B2B2C applications (UX/UI) including backend processes
Define a global test governance, planning, and monitoring structures
Integrate test setup into agile, Scrum-based software development
Differentiate agile software development process and integration testing process
Advise and support change management
Stakeholder management at all levels (16 stakeholders)
Integrate 8 testers from international business units (France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany)
Manage 35 testers and 4 sub-test managers
Overall planning and management of user acceptance testing
Effort estimation, capacity planning, and risk management
Escalation management and lead task forces
Interface ALM to Excel (VBA) for test KPI calculation and reporting
Methods: ISTQB, Scrum, agile methodologies, PMBOK, PMI
IT environment: MS Project, OpenText ALM, JIRA, web applications, SAP FI/CO, z/OS, Excel VBA

Jul 2016 - Sep 2017

1 year 3 months

Germany

Program Management Senior PMO / Senior Test Management

Large Bank

Convert structured loan products and processes to Loan IQ in an international setting
Advise and support project management for program steering
Set up PMO structures and manage 2 PMO staff members
Stakeholder management at project and program levels
Requirements management and business analysis: end-to-end integration of all processes
Change management for outsourcing operational loan processes
Migration planning and management of the old loan application to Loan IQ
Monitor project progress and create management reports
Permanent member of the steering committee (executive board level)
Plan and monitor business integration and acceptance tests (5,000 test cases, 29 integrated systems)
Manage 95 international test designers and testers at 4 locations (London, Bucharest, Munich, Hamburg)
Coordinate testing with international IT service providers (England, Italy)
Training and coaching (test case design, test methodology, OpenText ALM/QC)
Methods: PMBOK, PMI, ISTQB, BPMN
IT environment: MS Project, OpenText ALM/QC, SharePoint, Loan IQ, SAP BA, SAP FI/CO, SAP BW, SAS, Kondor+, z/OS, COBOL, DB2, Oracle, Excel VBA

May 2016 - Jun 2016

2 months

Germany

Consultant Test Automation

Large Bank

Implementation plan for test automation using UFT
Install UFT and set up a pilot for a browser environment
Create and document test scripts
Concept for reusability and UFT implementation plan
Methods: test automation
IT environment: HP UFT

Mar 2015 - Jun 2016

1 year 4 months

Germany

Test Manager / Project Management Consultant

Large Bank

Launch a new forward mortgage loan product based on EURIBOR
Advise project management on strategy, planning, risk management, change management, and rollout planning
Support business analysis (end-to-end process analysis): financing, interest calculation, risk management, and overall bank control
Manage 16 stakeholders and oversee 40 testers and IT service providers
Model change process (event-driven process chains, EPK)
Develop the test concept (test strategy, test levels, acceptance criteria for 16 integrated systems)
Structure the test tool OpenText ALM/HP QC and defect workflow
Train/coach testers and coordinate test infrastructure
Create test reports and test phase protocols
Methods: ISTQB, PMBOK, PMI, BPMN, EPK
IT environment: HP ALM, SharePoint, OpenProj, web/portal technologies, SAP BA, SAP SA, SAP BW, SAS, Oracle, z/OS, COBOL, DB2, Excel VBA

Feb 2014 - Dec 2014

11 months

Germany

Multi Test Manager and Business Analysis Support

Large Bank

Introduce workflow systems for mortgage and consumer loans
Test planning and monitoring in coordination with project management
Business analysis: end-to-end home financing and consumer loan processes (BPMN and use cases)
Manage 28 stakeholders
Develop 2 test concepts for 28 integrated systems (front office, rating, accounting, controlling, risk management)
Resource planning and recruiting of test staff
Structure OpenText ALM and align defect workflow
Manage 61 testers and 3 sub-test managers at 2 locations (Italy, Romania)
Methods: ISTQB, BPMN, EPK, UML use case definition
IT environment: OpenText ALM, SharePoint, OpenProj, web/portal technologies, SAP BA, SAP SA, SAP BW, SAS, Oracle, z/OS, COBOL, DB2, Excel VBA

Aug 2013 - Jan 2014

6 months

Germany

Project Manager / Business Analyst

Major Bank

Migration of SAP FI to SEPA: financial accounting and real estate processes
Project planning, monitoring and SEPA test planning
Management of defect fixing and test reporting for SAP including 4 sub-systems and 26 SAP clients
Oversight of 4 legally independent business units and 2 IT service providers
Stakeholder management (20 stakeholders) and risk management
SEPA process consulting: conversion of payment processes, mandate management, IBAN, BIC
Quality assurance of SAP SEPA specifications and XML data streams (SCD + SDD)
SAP SEPA rollout planning and migration management
Post-go-live support and XML analysis
Methods: PMI, PMBOK, ISTQB
IT environment: OpenProj, SharePoint, HP ALM, SAP FI, SAP SD, SAP RE, SEPA XML

Feb 2013 - Jul 2013

6 months

Switzerland

Project Manager

Major Bank

Release process design for output management and returned mail workflow
Project planning (scope, schedule, budget) and capacity planning
Leading 11 employees and managing an external vendor
Process design, role definitions and process transition (KANBAN)
Establishing release management and ensuring quality assurance
Monitoring work products: requirements, software architecture, test plans and deployment
Stakeholder management, risk management and escalation management
Methods: RUP, BPMN, KANBAN
IT environment: z/OS, DB2, SQL, COBOL, ISIS Papyrus, POSY, DOPiX, PEGA, Unix, MS Project

May 2012 - Jan 2013

9 months

Germany

Test Manager

Investment Company

Enhancement of a custody system - AnlSVG and SEPA
Reviewing business concept documents and functional design, and deriving test cases
Developing a test strategy and test concept for SEPA (output management, customer communication)
Defining acceptance criteria and test objects considering SEPA specifics
Test management: tracking test execution, controlling bug fixing and reporting
Methods: ISTQB
IT environment: z/OS, CICS, COBOL, DB2, Oracle, SQL, ISIS Papyrus, MANTIS

Aug 2011 - Mar 2012

8 months

Germany

Project Manager / Process Manager / Test Engineer

Curexus GmbH and Siemens AG

Setting up support and operational processes for webMethods
Outsourcing webMethods operations support from Siemens AG to Curexus GmbH
Building EAI architectures to connect a data hub to a CRM system (12,000 users)
Project management in an international environment (USA, India)
Consulting on process design for webMethods operations (KANBAN)
Defining service processes according to ITIL and setting KPIs/SLAs
Involving 2 external subcontractors and leading 2 employees
Process design and scripting for data quality management
Creating an operations manual (monitoring, exception handling)
Methods: ITIL, KANBAN
IT environment: webMethods 8.2, Web Services, JEE, Oracle DB, Linux, Unix scripting, Java, MS Project

Jan 2011 - May 2011

5 months

Germany

Project Manager and Business Analyst

Regional Bank

Pre-study for evaluating own issuances
Business analysis for modeling spread curves for regulatory reporting (Basel II / MaRisk)
Defining IT architectures and planning IT implementation
Clarifying business requirements, determining IT scope and aligning calculation methods
Project organization and test planning to prepare for implementation
IT environment: JEE, Oracle, SAP-BA/-SEM, Kondor+, Calypso, Asset Control, MS Project

Jun 2010 - Dec 2010

7 months

Braunschweig, Germany

Process Manager and Business Analyst

Ckc AG Braunschweig

Supported the setup of the profit center and banking consulting
Designed the process model and business analysis for a holistic bank advisory approach
Defined the boundaries of different process levels
Defined target skills and built a skill database
Developed a consulting approach for Basel III and MaRisk
Methods: creativity techniques
IT environment: MS Office tools

Jan 2010 - Jun 2010

6 months

Germany

Test Manager / Test Coach

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg

Migrated the custodial bank solution from Sungard V3 to Profidata XENTIS
Created functional test plans, test design and test strategy
Executed XENTIS functional tests (corporate actions, master data, transactions, interfaces)
Planned and managed all test activities based on ISTQB
Led the test team (3 IT staff, 6 business staff)
Managed and monitored via HP Quality Center
Test reviews, test reporting and escalation management
IT environment: z/OS, Oracle, SQL, OpenText ALM, Profidata XENTIS

Apr 2008 - Jun 2010

2 years 3 months

Germany

Multi-Project Manager / Portfolio Manager

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg

Integrated the Calypso and Front Arena systems with the Risk Vision limits system
Managed the annual maintenance project and implemented the order management process for Risk Vision
Included credit and interest rate derivatives as well as bonds and money markets in limit control
Restructured risk calculation models and limit structures
Project planning using SCRUM process frameworks
Planned and managed the migration of transaction data
Led 17 project team members and managed the overall project portfolio
Set up requirements management and change processes
Stakeholder management, risk management and escalation management
Established test management and designed test automation
Methods: SCRUM, ISTQB
IT environment: Risk Vision, Solaris, Sybase, JEE, Tibco, MQ, Calypso, Front Arena, Kondor+, MS Project

Jan 2004 - Mar 2008

4 years 3 months

Germany

Project Manager / Process Manager

LRP Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz

Implemented the OSPlus banking system (Finanz Informatik)
Introduced retail systems (checking, savings, teller, ATMs) and conducted business analysis of retail processes
Integrated master data, credit, limit and embargo systems according to Data Governance and KYC
Outsourced payment processing to IT service providers
Automated the overdraft approval workflow for individual and framework loans
Managed 9 subprojects and led 28 staff (impacting over 800 employees)
Organized the test management process and SLA process
Escalation management (sounding boards) and board decisions
Designed migration concept and master data synchronization (webMethods)
Methods: PMOPlus Finanzinformatik, EPK process modeling, MaRisk
IT environment: z/OS, DB2, COBOL, CICS, Oracle, SQL, Siron, webMethods, SAP FI/CO, OPC

Jan 2003 - Dec 2003

1 year

Germany

Project Manager / Test Manager

LRP Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz

Implemented a limit system for trading and credit risks
Project planning and team leadership (34 staff)
Project representative in decision-making committees and involved at the C-level
Integration concept for near-time interfaces
Software rollout and hypercare phase
IT environment: z/OS, Unix, DB2, CICS, COBOL, Oracle, SQL, Zeidon, Siron, Murex, Front Arena, Kondor+, OPC

Jan 2002 - Mar 2002

3 months

Germany

Business Analyst

LRP Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz

Pre-study of HR workflow for overtime
Methods: matrix diagram technique
IT environment: z/OS, Windows 2000, DB2, Oracle, SQL, SAP HR

Dec 2001 - Dec 2002

1 year 1 month

Germany

Test Manager / Test Engineer

LRP Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz

Implementation of the LeDIS contract database
Execution of test procedures and test automation
IT environment: z/OS, Windows 2000, DB2, Oracle, SQL, Siron, Rexx, Excel VBA, FTP

Jan 2001 - Nov 2001

11 months

Switzerland

Project Manager / Process Manager / Business Analyst

Union Investment

Restructuring of purchasing and logistics processes
Project planning, control, and leadership of 12 employees (impacting about 60 staff)
Identification of target process with improvement potentials and KPI definition
Development of the transformation concept and concept approval by C-level for group-wide rollout
Methods: BPMN, matrix diagram technique, MS Project

Apr 2000 - Sep 2000

6 months

Germany

Project Manager

Union Investment Gruppe

Implementation of a group-wide master data management
Methods: UML
IT environment: Persis, Paisy, SAP FI/CO, fund systems, custody systems, distribution systems, MS Project

Jan 2000 - Mar 2001

1 year 3 months

Luxembourg

Project Manager / Process Manager

Union Investment Gruppe

Implementation of the Persis personnel information system
Methods: BPMN, UML
IT environment: Windows 2000, Oracle, SQL, VB, Persis, Paisy, MS Project

Jan 2000 - Sep 2000

9 months

Germany

Project Manager

Union Investment

Generation of e-invoices and archiving
Project planning, control and concept support for e-invoices and SAP processing
Rollout planning and organization of the hypercare phase
Methods: BPMN, SAP-Standard
IT environment: SAP FI / CO, ABAP/4, MS Outlook, MS Project

Jan 1999 - Dec 1999

1 year

Switzerland

Project Manager / Process Manager

Union Investment

System integration of SAP R/3 FI / CO into the Union group
Interface concept, migration concept and implementation
Outsourcing concept and implementation
Disciplinary leadership responsibility for 4 employees
Methods: BPMN, SAP-Standard
IT environment: AIX, Oracle, SQL, SAS, SAP FI / CO, ABAP/4, Paisy, MS Project

Aug 1993 - Dec 1998

5 years 5 months

Switzerland

Designer / Developer

Union Investment

Maintenance and further development of securities systems
Methods: UML
IT environment: z/OS, VM, VSE, CMS, CICS, DB2, SQL, QMF, VSAM, COBOL, Rexx

Jul 1991 - Jul 1993

2 years 1 month

Germany

Designer / Developer / Business Analyst

Software Union

Software development and design for an airline
Business analysis for a health insurance company: data migration concept and mainframe reports
Proposal creation for fixed-price projects
Methods: ISOTEC
IT environment: VM, CMS, Predict-Case, Adabas, Natural, MVS, IMS-DB/DC, DB2, COBOL, PL/1, Delta-Tools

Jan 1985 - Jun 1991

6 years 6 months

Germany

Designer / Developer / IT Auditor

Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen

Software development and IT audits
Methods: decision table technique, FAMA 1/87
IT environment: z/OS, CICS, COBOL, Assembler, Adabas, Natural, Delta-Tools

Skills

Focus Areas

Project Manager, Agile Coach (Senior Level, Experience > 15 Years; Complex Projects With Up To 9 Subprojects; Management Of Vendors And Teams Up To 30 Members; International)
Traditional/agile Test Manager (Senior Level, Experience > 8 Years; E.g. E2e Test Design For 29 Integrated Systems Per Project; Management Of International Vendors And Test Teams Up To 95 Members; International)
Process Manager/ai Consultant (Ai Management, Ai Consulting And Digital Transformation; Definition Of Process Metrics (Kpi); Experience > 6 Years; International)

Industries

Banking
Investment Companies/asset Managers
Insurance
It Consulting

Technical Focus

Capital Markets, Credit, Risk Management, Bank Controlling, Retail
Asset Management, Fund Administration, Custody
Travel Insurance, Reinsurance, Health Insurance
Crm Processes (Marketing, Sales, Service)
Ai Transition And Digitization
Sepa Payments
Output Management

It Focus

Jee, Soa/eai, Webmethods, Vba
Ibm Mainframe (Z/os, Cics, Ims, Cobol, Rexx, Pl/1, Siron)
Databases (Oracle, Db2)/sql
Sap, Loan Iq, Algo One, Activepivot, Salesforce, Osplus, Ledis
Ai Tools (Llm, Ai Models, Chatgpt, N8n)

Special Skills – Methods/frameworks

Pmbok Expert (++++)
Ipma Expert (++++)
Istqb Expert (++++)
Scrum Expert (++++)
Kanban Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Safe Practical Experience (++)
Holocracy Basic Knowledge (+)
Design Thinking Practical Experience (++)
Bpmn 2.0 Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Rup Practical Experience (++)
Itil Practical Experience (++)
Babok Practical Experience (++)
Epc Practical Experience (++)
Uml Practical Experience (++)
Pmoplus Practical Experience (++)
Ai Prompting Practical Experience (++)
Dora Practical Experience (++)
Vait Practical Experience (++)
Kait Practical Experience (++)
Bait Basic Knowledge (+)
Eu Ai Act Basic Knowledge (+)
Okr Basic Knowledge (+)

Special Skills – Tools

Ms Project Expert (++++)
Opentext Alm Expert (++++)
Ms Azure Devops Expert (++++)
Jira Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Confluence Practical Experience (++)
Sharepoint Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Excel Vba Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Miro Practical Experience (++)
Agile Accelerator (Salesforce) Practical Experience (++)
Hp Uft Practical Experience (++)
Lotus Notes Practical Experience (++)
Planview Basic Knowledge (+)
Isis Papyrus Practical Experience (++)
Svn Practical Experience (++)
Git Basic Knowledge (+)
Ai Tools Practical Experience (++) (Chatgpt, Perplexity, N8n, Gamma, Make)

Special Skills – Applications

Sap Fi/co Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Loan Iq Basic Knowledge (+)
Algo One Basic Knowledge (+)
Activepivot Basic Knowledge (+)
Salesforce Basic Knowledge (+)
Osplus Practical Experience (++)
Ledis Practical Experience (++)

Special Skills – Databases

Db2 Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Oracle Several Years Of Experience (+++)
Sybase Basic Knowledge (+)
Sql Several Years Of Experience (+++)

Special Skills – It

Webmethods (8.2) Practical Experience (++)
Jee Practical Experience (++)
Xml, Html Practical Experience (++)
Eai/soa Strategies Practical Experience (++)
Linux Practical Experience (++)
.Net C# Basic Knowledge (+)
Ibm Mainframe, Z/os Expert (++++) (Z/os, Tso, Ispf, Cics, Ims Db/dc, Cobol, Rexx, Pl/1, Siron)

Languages

German

Native

English

Advanced

Education

Oct 1987 - Jun 1989

Helaba Frankfurt

Bank internal IT training · Computer Science and Business Analysis · Frankfurt, Germany

Oct 1982 - Jun 1985

Helaba Frankfurt

Bank Clerk · Banking · Frankfurt, Germany

Certifications & licenses

AI Consultant and AI Manager, certified by HC Training

Hilker Consulting

Matthias Ottowski, Certified SAFe® 6 Scrum Master

Agile Certification Academy

ISTQB® Certified Tester Foundation Level Extension - Agile Tester

iSQI GmbH

ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level - Test Manager

iSQI GmbH

Project Management Professional PMP®

PMI Prometric Testing Ctr Munich

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Scrum Alliance

ITIL® Foundation Examination

APMG-International

Certified Project Manager (GPM) IPMA LEVEL C®

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