This position paper examines the substantial divide between academia and industry within quantum software engineering. For example, while academic research related to debugging and testing predominantly focuses on a limited subset of primarily quantum-specific issues, industry practitioners face a broader range of practical concerns, including software integration, compatibility, and real-world implementation hurdles. This disconnect mainly arises due to academia's limited access to industry practices and the often confidential, competitive nature of quantum development in commercial settings. As a result, academic advancements often fail to translate into actionable tools and methodologies that meet industry needs. By analyzing discussions within quantum developer forums, we identify key gaps in focus and resource availability that hinder progress on both sides. We propose collaborative efforts aimed at developing practical tools, methodologies, and best practices to bridge this divide, enabling academia to address the application-driven needs of industry and fostering a more aligned, sustainable ecosystem for quantum software development.
This position paper examines the substantial divide between academia and industry within quantum software engineering. For example, while academic research related to debugging and testing predominantly focuses on a limited subset of primarily quantum-specific issues, industry practitioners face a broader range of practical concerns, including software integration, compatibility, and real-world implementation hurdles. This disconnect mainly arises due to academia's limited access to industry practices and the often confidential, competitive nature of quantum development in commercial settings. As a result, academic advancements often fail to translate into actionable tools and methodologies that meet industry needs. By analyzing discussions within quantum developer forums, we identify key gaps in focus and resource availability that hinder progress on both sides. We propose collaborative efforts aimed at developing practical tools, methodologies, and best practices to bridge this divide, enabling academia to address the application-driven needs of industry and fostering a more aligned, sustainable ecosystem for quantum software development.
Abstract Quantum computing is an emerging field in which theoretical principles are being transformed into practical applications, largely due to the efforts of the developer community. In order to ensure that quantum software engineering continues to advance, it is vital to understand the experiences, challenges, and aspirations of developers. This chapter is a continuation of our previous work, which provided a comprehensive survey exploring the adoption patterns and common challenges in quantum software engineering. In addition to the survey, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with practitioners in the field to gain a deeper and more detailed understanding of their perspectives. Through the interviews and survey findings, we have gained nuanced insights into the motivations, hurdles, and outlook of developers toward the rapidly evolving quantum computing landscape. We describe the research methodology in detail, including the tools and techniques used, in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research process. Furthermore, we present critical insights from both the survey and interviews, enriching the narrative with fresh perspectives obtained from the post-publication interviews. This chapter is a blend of academic investigation and real-world practitioner insights, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of quantum software engineering. By illuminating the path for future research and development in this dynamic field, we hope to guide the way toward continued progress and innovation.
As quantum computing transitions from a theoretical domain to a practical technology, many aspects of established practice in software engineering are being faced with new challenges. Quantum Software Engineering has been developed to address the peculiar needs that arise with quantum systems’ dependable, scalable, and fault-tolerant software development. The present paper critically reviews how traditional software engineering methodologies can be reshaped to fit into the quantum field. This also entails providing some critical contributions: frameworks to integrate classical and quantum systems, new error mitigation techniques, and the development of quantum-specific testing and debugging tools. In this respect, best practices have been recommended to ensure that future quantum software can harness the evolving capabilities of quantum hardware with continued performance, reliability, and scalability. The work is supposed to act as a foundational guide for the researcher and developer as quantum computing approaches widespread scientific and industrial adoption.
Abstract Quantum computing (QC) hinged upon the bedrock principles of quantum theory and holds promise for reforming a large number of industries. The researcher in this area aims to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the art and future trajectories of QC. The authors have discovered that most academic studies have concentrated upon dissecting specific aspects of QC. This discernment underscores the exigency of identifying challenges that might impede the seamless integration of QC within the software industry. Moreover, it becomes crucial to ascertain the panoply of solutions/practices required to overcome these barriers. A comprehensive multi‐vocal literature review was performed and culled a total of 49 academic papers for data extraction. A total of 13 challenges encountered by organisations were identified during the adoption of QC. Subsequently, these challenges were examined deeply and determined that five of them are the most critical, these are ‘Lack of quantum specific algorithms, dev and testing methodologies’, ‘Difficult compilation and debugging’, ‘Lack of development tools and technology’, ‘Lack of development guidelines & Quality Assurance Standards’ and ‘Lack of professional expert’, together founding over 30% of occurrences. These challenges from various perspectives were evaluated, including time frame, methodology, geographical region and publication platform. To address these barriers and implement the QC in software industry effectively, a total of 53 practices/solutions. This research aims to share valuable knowledge to simplify and amplify quantum application development.
The quantum computing (QC) field is rapidly moving beyond the realm of pure science to become a commercially viable technology that may be able to overcome the drawbacks of traditional computing. Major technology tycoons have spent in building coding frameworks and hardware to create applications specifically designed for quantum computing over the last few years. The development of QC hardware is accelerating, however, the requirement for software-intensive methodology, approaches, procedures, instruments, roles and responsibilities for creating industrial-focused quantum software applications arises from operationalizing the QC. This paper outlines the concept of quantum software engineering (QSE) life cycle, which entails the engineering of quantum requirements, design, implementation, testing and maintenance of quantum software. This paper notably advocates for collaborative efforts between the industrial community and software engineering research to propose practical solutions to support the complete activities for the development of quantum software. The proposed vision makes it easier for researchers and practitioners to suggest new procedures, reference designs, cutting-edge equipment, and methods for utilizing quantum computers and creating the newest and most advanced quantum software.
To unlock the full potential of quantum computing, the eld must develop a robust software ecosystem grounded in classical software engineering principles—a discipline that itself needs to be adapted to the quantum domain. Currently, however, the advancement of quantum computing is hampered by a growing “software gap,” where a fragmented and non-standardized ecosystem of tools hinders progress. Much of the existing quantum software originates from academic proofs-of-concept that often lack the robustness, maintainability, and scalability required for practical applications. This article argues that bridging this gap requires the systematic application of principles from classical software engineering and design automation. We present the Munich Quantum Toolkit (MQT) as a case study, showcasing a suite of open-source tools built on these principles. By tracing its evolution, we distill key lessons learned in testing, deployment, and community-driven development. We demon-strate that adopting a rigorous software engineering culture is essential for building the reliable and sustainable software infrastructure needed to unlock the full potential of quantum computing.
Quantum software testing introduces new challenges that differ fundamentally from those in classical software engineering. Aims: This study investigates how the quantum software industry defines testing roles and what skills are expected from professionals in these positions. Method: We analyzed 110 job postings from organizations involved in quantum software and hardware development, identifying activities, competencies, and skill requirements related to testing. Results: The findings show that testing in quantum contexts combines traditional software quality assurance with experimental validation, emphasizing calibration, control, and hybrid quantum-classical verification. Employers seek professionals who integrate programming and automation expertise with quantum-specific technical knowledge and interdisciplinary collaboration skills. Conclusions: Quantum software testing remains at an early but rapidly evolving stage that bridges software engineering and experimental physics, highlighting the need for educational and research efforts that align testing practices with industrial realities.