Context: Quantum Software Engineering (QSE) has emerged as a promising discipline to support the development of quantum applications by integrating quantum computing principles with established software engineering practices. Problem: Despite recent growth, QSE still lacks standardized methodologies, tools, and guidelines. Moreover, countries like Brazil have had minimal representation in the development of this emerging field. Objective: This study aims to map the current state of QSE by identifying research trends, contributions, and gaps that can inform future investigations and strategic initiatives. Methodology: A systematic mapping study was conducted across major scientific databases, retrieving 3,219 studies. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 3,052 studies were excluded, resulting in 167 selected for analysis. The publications were classified by study type, research type, and alignment with SWEBOK knowledge areas. Results: Most studies focused on Software Engineering Models and Methods, Software Architecture, and Software Testing. Conceptual and technical proposals were predominant, while empirical validations remained limited. Conclusions: QSE is still a maturing field. Advancing it requires standardization, more empirical research, and greater participation from developing countries. As its main contribution, this study proposes a Brazilian Research Agenda in QSE to guide national efforts and foster the development of a strong local scientific community.
Context: Quantum Software Engineering (QSE) has emerged as a promising discipline to support the development of quantum applications by integrating quantum computing principles with established software engineering practices. Problem: Despite recent growth, QSE still lacks standardized methodologies, tools, and guidelines. Moreover, countries like Brazil have had minimal representation in the development of this emerging field. Objective: This study aims to map the current state of QSE by identifying research trends, contributions, and gaps that can inform future investigations and strategic initiatives. Methodology: A systematic mapping study was conducted across major scientific databases, retrieving 3,219 studies. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 3,052 studies were excluded, resulting in 167 selected for analysis. The publications were classified by study type, research type, and alignment with SWEBOK knowledge areas. Results: Most studies focused on Software Engineering Models and Methods, Software Architecture, and Software Testing. Conceptual and technical proposals were predominant, while empirical validations remained limited. Conclusions: QSE is still a maturing field. Advancing it requires standardization, more empirical research, and greater participation from developing countries. As its main contribution, this study proposes a Brazilian Research Agenda in QSE to guide national efforts and foster the development of a strong local scientific community.
Context. Quantum computing is becoming a reality, and quantum software engineering (QSE) is emerging as a new discipline to enable developers to design and develop quantum programs. Objective. This paper presents a systematic mapping study of the current state of QSE research, aiming to identify the most investigated topics, the types and number of studies, the main reported results, and the most studied quantum computing tools/frameworks. Additionally, the study aims to explore the research community's interest in QSE, how it has evolved, and any prior contributions to the discipline before its formal introduction through the Talavera Manifesto. Method. We searched for relevant articles in several databases and applied inclusion and exclusion criteria to select the most relevant studies. After evaluating the quality of the selected resources, we extracted relevant data from the primary studies and analyzed them. Results. We found that QSE research has primarily focused on software testing, with little attention given to other topics, such as software engineering management. The most commonly studied technology for techniques and tools is Qiskit, although, in most studies, either multiple or none specific technologies were employed. The researchers most interested in QSE are interconnected through direct collaborations, and several strong collaboration clusters have been identified. Most articles in QSE have been published in non-thematic venues, with a preference for conferences. Conclusions. The study's implications are providing a centralized source of information for researchers and practitioners in the field, facilitating knowledge transfer, and contributing to the advancement and growth of QSE.
Quantum computing is becoming a reality, and quantum software engineering (QSE) is emerging as a new discipline to enable developers to design and develop quantum programs. This paper presents a systematic mapping study of the current state of QSE research, aiming to identify the most investigated topics, the types and number of studies, the main reported results, and the most studied quantum computing tools/frameworks. Additionally, the study aims to explore the research community’s interest in QSE, how it has evolved, and any prior contributions to the discipline before its formal introduction through the Talavera Manifesto. We searched for relevant articles in several databases and applied inclusion and exclusion criteria to select the most relevant studies. After evaluating the quality of the selected resources, we extracted relevant data from the primary studies and analyzed them. We found that QSE research has primarily focused on software testing, with little attention given to other topics, such as software engineering management. The most commonly studied technology for techniques and tools is Qiskit, although, in most studies, either multiple or none specific technologies were employed. The researchers most interested in QSE are interconnected through direct collaborations, and several strong collaboration clusters have been identified. Most articles in QSE have been published in non-thematic venues, with a preference for conferences. The study’s implications are providing a centralized source of information for researchers and practitioners in the field, facilitating knowledge transfer, and contributing to the advancement and growth of QSE.
As quantum computers advance, the complexity of the software they can execute increases as well. To ensure this software is efficient, maintainable, reusable, and cost-effective—key qualities of any industry-grade software—mature software engineering practices must be applied throughout its design, development, and operation. However, the significant differences between classical and quantum software make it challenging to directly apply classical software engineering methods to quantum systems. This challenge has led to the emergence of Quantum Software Engineering (QSE) as a distinct field within the broader software engineering landscape. In this work, a group of active researchers analyze in depth the current state of QSE research. From this analysis, the key areas of QSE are identified and explored in order to determine the most relevant open challenges that should be addressed in the next years. These challenges help identify necessary breakthroughs and future research directions for advancing QSE.
Quantum computing, grounded in principles such as superposition and entanglement, is revolutionising the design, testing, and understanding of software. While the community is working on its technical challenges, the human and collaborative aspects have received little attention. This vision paper outlines a research agenda for human-centred quantum software engineering (HC-QSE). Building on current QSE foundations, the agenda spans three interrelated themes: understanding practice, designing support, and embedding responsibility. The first calls for studying how interdisciplinary teams construct and share mental models of quantum behaviour, collaborate across disciplinary boundaries, and reason under uncertainty inherent in probabilistic computation. The second focuses on creating tools, workflows, and learning environments that enhance comprehension, interpretability, and shared accountability among practitioners, educators, and learners. The third integrates ethical reflection and equity considerations into the design and governance of quantum software ecosystems. By centering human experience within QSE, this agenda encourages cooperative, reflective, and ethically grounded approaches to building quantum software.
Context: Quantum software development is a complex and intricate process that diverges significantly from traditional software development. Quantum computing and quantum software are deeply entangled with quantum mechanics, which introduces a different level of abstraction and a deep dependence on quantum physical properties. The classical requirements engineering methods must be adapted to encompass the essential quantum features in this new paradigm. Aim: This study aims to systematically identify and analyze challenges, opportunities, developments, and new lines of research in requirements engineering for quantum computing. Method: We conducted a systematic literature review, including three research questions. This study included 105 papers published from 2017 to 2024. Results: The main results include the identification of problems associated with defining specific requirements for quantum software and hybrid system requirements. In addition, we identified challenges related to the absence of standards for quantum requirements engineering. Finally, we can see the advances in developing programming languages and simulation tools for developing software in hybrid systems. Conclusions: This study presents the challenges and opportunities in quantum computing requirements engineering, emphasizing the need for new methodologies and tools. It proposes a roadmap for future research to develop a standardized framework, contributing to theoretical foundations and practical applications.
Quantum computing represents one of the most transformative technological shifts in computational science since the advent of classical computing architectures. This systematic literature review (SLR) synthesizes 212 peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2024 to map the current landscape of quantum computing research as it intersects with software development practices, tools, frameworks, and methodologies. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we searched six major academic databases and identified relevant literature through a rigorous multi-stage screening process. Our analysis reveals five dominant research themes: quantum algorithm development and software frameworks, quantum machine learning integration, quantum cryptography and security applications, quantum software testing and verification, and hybrid quantum-classical software architectures. We further document major challenges including hardware decoherence, limited qubit availability, the absence of mature quantum DevOps pipelines, and a critical shortage of quantum-competent software engineers. The review concludes with a structured research agenda identifying six high-priority gaps where future scholarly work is most urgently needed. This paper provides a foundational reference for software engineers, researchers, and technology strategists seeking to understand and navigate the rapidly evolving quantum software ecosystem.