Until recently, I was completely unaware of the existence and crucial role of Software Engineers in Test (SET). A little research revealed that as early as the 2000s, some companies already felt a strong need for this role. One such pioneer was Google.

There's no official record of Google being the first to use the term "Software Engineer in Test" or to define the role. Still, it's widely recognized that Google played a significant role in popularizing the role and establishing it as an industry standard. Google innovated the quality assurance process by emphasizing the importance of embedding quality from the early stages of development. This approach influenced other technology companies to rethink the function of quality assurance.

Of course, the professions of software testing and quality assurance existed before Google. Google's notable contribution was bringing a new perspective to the SET role, focusing on integrating the skill set of software engineering into the testing process. As a result, the role of an SET expanded beyond merely executing tests to include developing test automation tools and formulating quality assurance strategies.

A significant catalyst for this change was undoubtedly the publication of "How Google Tests Software" in 2012. This book differentiates the roles and importance of SWE (Software Engineers), SET, and TE (Test Engineers), with a particular emphasis on explaining the role of SET. Google's influence and innovation were instrumental in recognizing and adopting the SET role across the industry.

In 2013, the Japanese Edition was also released. So, I bought both.

By the way, the Japanese Edition title of this book, "テストから見えてくるグーグルのソフトウェア開発," does not have the same meaning as the original. It's "Insights into Google's Software Development from Testing" if directly translated from the Japanese title. In my opinion, that is much more suitable with its contents.

Anyway, it’s worth reading. Let's refer to the original texts.