The advancement of quantum hardware and the intricacies of quantum computing make well-designed quantum software increasingly necessary. Due to the interdisciplinarity of the field, it is crucial to understand the perspectives and specific needs of involved stakeholders, for example, to balance the desired level of abstraction with the exposition of (hardware)-specific details. In this work, we conduct a stakeholder-based analysis to identify personas of quantum software as a means of creating meaningful, user-tailored quantum software. We conducted an expert focus group at a Dagstuhl seminar in 2024 and qualitative interviews with practitioners at conference IEEE QCE in 2025, from which we derive eleven personas of potential users and stakeholders for quantum software. We discuss these personas regarding their use cases, interests, constraints and abstraction level.
Journal reference
1st Workshop on Quantum Modeling (QMOD) @ MODELS 2026
The advancement of quantum hardware and the intricacies of quantum computing make well-designed quantum software increasingly necessary. Due to the interdisciplinarity of the field, it is crucial to understand the perspectives and specific needs of involved stakeholders, for example, to balance the desired level of abstraction with the exposition of (hardware)-specific details. In this work, we conduct a stakeholder-based analysis to identify personas of quantum software as a means of creating meaningful, user-tailored quantum software. We conducted an expert focus group at a Dagstuhl seminar in 2024 and qualitative interviews with practitioners at conference IEEE QCE in 2025, from which we derive eleven personas of potential users and stakeholders for quantum software. We discuss these personas regarding their use cases, interests, constraints and abstraction level.
Quantum software is an emerging class of software systems, services, and applications that leverage the principles of quantum mechanics through programmable quantum bits (qubits) and quantum gates to perform computations that offer advantages for certain classes of problems. Quantum software architecture enables quantum software developers to abstract away implementation-specific details (i.e., mapping of qubits and quantum gates to high-level architectural components and connectors). Architecture patterns provide proven solutions to recurring design problems, while architecture strategies are approaches that guide the overall design and evolution of a system to meet specific goals. Such patterns and strategies are needed because quantum software systems involve complex hybrid quantum-classical design concerns. However, quantum software practitioners face significant challenges in selecting and implementing appropriate patterns and strategies. To address these challenges, this study proposes decision models for selecting patterns and strategies in six critical design areas in quantum software systems: Communication, Decomposition, Data Processing, Fault Tolerance, Integration and Optimization, and Algorithm Implementation. These decision models are constructed based on data collected from both a mining study (GitHub and Stack Exchange) and an SLR, which were used to identify relevant patterns and strategies with their involved QAs. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 quantum software practitioners to evaluate the familiarity, understandability, completeness, and usefulness of the proposed decision models. The results show that the proposed decision models can aid practitioners in selecting suitable patterns and strategies to address the challenges related to the architecture design of quantum software systems. The dataset is at https://github.com/shamimaaktar1/DMQSA
Quantum computing is the latest revolution in computing and will probably come to be seen as an advance as important as the steam engine or the information society. In the last few decades, our understanding of quantum computers has expanded and multiple efforts have been made to create languages, libraries, tools, and environments to facilitate their programming. Nonetheless, quantum computers are complex systems at the bottom of a stack of layers that programmers need to understand. Hence, efforts towards creating quantum programming languages and computing environments that can abstract low-level technology details have become crucial steps to achieve a useful quantum computing technology. However, most of these environments still lack many of the features that would be desirable, such as those outlined in The Talavera Manifesto for Quantum Software Engineering and Programming. For advancing quantum computing, we will need to develop quantum software engineering techniques and tools to ensure the feasibility of this new type of quantum software. To contribute to this goal, this paper provides a review of the main quantum software components and platforms. We also propose a set of quality requirements for the development of quantum software platforms and the conduct of their quality assessment.
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.
The emergence of quantum computing has introduced a revolutionary paradigm capable of transforming numerous scientific and industrial sectors. Nevertheless, realizing the practical utilization of quantum software in real-world applications presents significant challenges. Factors such as variations in hardware implementations, the intricacy of quantum algorithms, the integration of quantum and traditional software, and the absence of standardized software and communication interfaces hinder the development of a skilled workforce in this domain. This paper explores tangible approaches to establishing quantum computing software development process and addresses the concerns of various stakeholders. By addressing these challenges, we aim to pave the way for the effective utilization of quantum computing in diverse fields.
Quantum computing systems depend on the principles of quantum mechanics to perform multiple challenging tasks more efficiently than their classical counterparts. In classical software engineering, the software life cycle is used to document and structure the processes of design, implementation, and maintenance of software applications. It helps stakeholders understand how to build an application. In this paper, we summarize a set of software analytics topics and techniques in the development life cycle that can be leveraged and integrated into quantum software application development. The results of this work can assist researchers and practitioners in better understanding the quantum-specific emerging development activities, challenges, and opportunities in the next generation of quantum software.
This annotated bibliography delves into the field of quantum computing, focusing specifically on the resources used throughout the software life cycle. It examines several published works that analyze quantum software modelling in the context of the various phases of the life cycle, from analysis/requirements to testing and maintenance. Each annotation provides an analysis of software engineering resources applicable to quantum software development and their applicability to different phases of the software development process. By synthesizing these diverse perspectives, this bibliography illuminates the evolving landscape of quantum software development and underscores the critical role of modelling in the context of software engineering. The result provides a valuable starting point for researchers and practitioners who wish to deepen the interplay between quantum computing and software engineering, fostering innovation and advances in this evolving field.