At Achmea, hundreds of teams work every day on systems that make a difference for more than 10 million customers in the Netherlands. These systems must be reliable, secure, and future-proof. It’s an environment where quality is essential and where software testing plays a crucial role. Through Bartosz (part of Sofius), our consultants contribute their expertise here every day.
One of them is Milan, who has been working as a test consultant in the pension domain for the past year and a half. There he collaborates closely with Marjolijn van Dun, who has been active as a Product Owner since 2016. In this article, they share more about the challenge, their collaboration, and what makes working at Achmea so interesting.
The challenge
For some people, pensions may sound like a dull topic, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The pension domain is complex, highly regulated, and affects nearly everyone in the Netherlands. The systems Milan and Marjolijn’s team work on must function flawlessly while remaining flexible enough to adapt to changing laws and regulations.
Achmea is a large organization with many teams, disciplines, and international collaboration. Development teams work across locations, including developers in Portugal. This requires clear communication, strong coordination, and a sharp focus on quality. Software testing plays a crucial role here: issues must be detected early and risks minimized.
The collaboration
Although Milan and Marjolijn have different roles within the team, they complement each other well. As Product Owner, Marjolijn is responsible for priorities and expectations within the team. She ensures the team knows what needs to be done and what is coming next. Milan, as a tester, safeguards quality and takes a critical look at the details.
Marjolijn about Milan:
“Milan is always helpful, but also critical when needed. He asks the right questions and comes up with strong suggestions on how we can approach or improve things. That keeps us sharp and truly helps the team move forward.”
Milan about Marjolijn:
“If I have questions about priorities or when certain work needs to be picked up more quickly, I coordinate that with Marjolijn. And if we get stuck because another team needs to take action, she makes sure the right escalation happens so we can continue.”
That mutual sharpness and trust in each other’s roles ensure that quality is not an afterthought, but a structural part of the development process.
The work
Working days at Achmea are varied and well structured. Because colleagues in Portugal often continue working later in the day, the morning starts with reviewing the latest updates. After that, the testers check in with each other to divide tasks.
At 10:15 a.m., the daily stand-up takes place, where the entire team discusses progress and shares any obstacles. The rest of the day consists of a mix of designing and executing test scenarios, meetings via Teams, and collaborating with colleagues from other teams and disciplines.
As a tester, Milan is highly detail-oriented. He identifies both large and small issues, thinks through scenarios that may not have been considered yet, and actively contributes to improving the team’s way of working.
“I make sure quality is safeguarded and that we continuously improve as a team.”
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