diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index bb59f89a..ba1e32c1 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ find_package(Qt5 ${QT_MIN_VERSION} CONFIG REQUIRED COMPONENTS
     Widgets
     X11Extras
     Svg
+    Test
     Concurrent
 )
 
diff --git a/applets/kicker/CMakeLists.txt b/applets/kicker/CMakeLists.txt
index 9551dcf2..1c5365f9 100644
--- a/applets/kicker/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/applets/kicker/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ target_link_libraries(kickerplugin
                       Qt5::Qml
                       Qt5::Quick
                       Qt5::X11Extras
+                      Qt5::Test
                       KF5::Activities
                       KF5::ActivitiesStats
                       KF5::ConfigCore
diff --git a/applets/kicker/plugin/abstractmodel.cpp b/applets/kicker/plugin/abstractmodel.cpp
index a4966d8d..3738cc58 100644
--- a/applets/kicker/plugin/abstractmodel.cpp
+++ b/applets/kicker/plugin/abstractmodel.cpp
@@ -20,10 +20,17 @@
 #include "abstractmodel.h"
 #include "actionlist.h"
 
+#include <QAbstractItemModelTester>
+#include <QTimer>
+
 AbstractModel::AbstractModel(QObject *parent) : QAbstractListModel(parent)
 , m_favoritesModel(nullptr)
 , m_iconSize(32)
 {
+    //deferred to not call virtuals from inside constuctor
+    QTimer::singleShot(0, this, [this]() {
+        new QAbstractItemModelTester(this, QAbstractItemModelTester::FailureReportingMode::Fatal, this);
+    });
 }
 
 AbstractModel::~AbstractModel()
diff --git a/applets/kicker/plugin/kastatsfavoritesmodel.cpp b/applets/kicker/plugin/kastatsfavoritesmodel.cpp
index 8740488c..dc53ff3c 100644
--- a/applets/kicker/plugin/kastatsfavoritesmodel.cpp
+++ b/applets/kicker/plugin/kastatsfavoritesmodel.cpp
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@
 #include <KActivities/Stats/ResultSet>
 #include <KActivities/Stats/ResultWatcher>
 
+#include <QAbstractItemModelTester>
+#include <QTimer>
+
 namespace KAStats = KActivities::Stats;
 
 using namespace KAStats;
@@ -468,6 +471,12 @@ KAStatsFavoritesModel::KAStatsFavoritesModel(QObject *parent)
                     initForClient(clientId);
                 }
             });
+
+
+        //deferred to not call virtuals from inside constuctor
+    QTimer::singleShot(0, this, [this]() {
+        new QAbstractItemModelTester(this, QAbstractItemModelTester::FailureReportingMode::Fatal, this);
+    });
 }
 
 KAStatsFavoritesModel::~KAStatsFavoritesModel()
diff --git a/applets/kicker/plugin/runnermodel.cpp b/applets/kicker/plugin/runnermodel.cpp
index cb0e762c..0a55bde3 100644
--- a/applets/kicker/plugin/runnermodel.cpp
+++ b/applets/kicker/plugin/runnermodel.cpp
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@
 #include <KRunner/AbstractRunner>
 #include <KRunner/RunnerManager>
 
+#include <QAbstractItemModelTester>
+#include <QTimer>
+
 RunnerModel::RunnerModel(QObject *parent) : QAbstractListModel(parent)
 , m_favoritesModel(nullptr)
 , m_appletInterface(nullptr)
@@ -36,6 +39,12 @@ RunnerModel::RunnerModel(QObject *parent) : QAbstractListModel(parent)
 {
     m_queryTimer.setSingleShot(true);
     m_queryTimer.setInterval(10);
+
+        //deferred to not call virtuals from inside constuctor
+    QTimer::singleShot(0, this, [this]() {
+        new QAbstractItemModelTester(this, QAbstractItemModelTester::FailureReportingMode::Fatal, this);
+    });
+
     connect(&m_queryTimer, SIGNAL(timeout()), this, SLOT(startQuery()));
 }