The increasing maturity of Quantum Computing (QC) and quantum hardware hasbrought Quantum Software Design (QSD) into focus as a distinct research concernwithin Quantum Software Engineering (QSE), yet no prior study has systematicallymapped its approaches, challenges, and opportunities. This thesis addresses thatgap through two complementary research phases: a Systematic Literature Review(SLR) of 32 studies published between 2006 and 2025, and semi-structured inter-views with four domain experts. Both phases confirm that quantum-classical hybrid design is the dominant approach in current QSD research, and that the adaptationof classical tools, particularly Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Model-DrivenEngineering (MDE), is the primary methodological strategy. Hardware-software co-design is identified as a necessary design concern under Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) constraints; two further directions absent from the published liter-ature were identified by practitioners: AI-assisted QSD and self-adaptive quantumsystems. The challenge analysis reveals a potential causal sequence of challenges in the field. Human resources challenges, specifically, the bidirectional knowledge gap between software engineers and quantum computing researchers, emerge exclusively from the interviews and are absent from all 32 reviewed studies. MDE is the most convergent near-term opportunity, and the formalization of human resources and educational pathways represents a new research direction not addressed in the existing literature.
The increasing maturity of Quantum Computing (QC) and quantum hardware hasbrought Quantum Software Design (QSD) into focus as a distinct research concernwithin Quantum Software Engineering (QSE), yet no prior study has systematicallymapped its approaches, challenges, and opportunities. This thesis addresses thatgap through two complementary research phases: a Systematic Literature Review(SLR) of 32 studies published between 2006 and 2025, and semi-structured inter-views with four domain experts. Both phases confirm that quantum-classical hybrid design is the dominant approach in current QSD research, and that the adaptationof classical tools, particularly Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Model-DrivenEngineering (MDE), is the primary methodological strategy. Hardware-software co-design is identified as a necessary design concern under Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) constraints; two further directions absent from the published liter-ature were identified by practitioners: AI-assisted QSD and self-adaptive quantumsystems. The challenge analysis reveals a potential causal sequence of challenges in the field. Human resources challenges, specifically, the bidirectional knowledge gap between software engineers and quantum computing researchers, emerge exclusively from the interviews and are absent from all 32 reviewed studies. MDE is the most convergent near-term opportunity, and the formalization of human resources and educational pathways represents a new research direction not addressed in the existing literature.
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.
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.
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.
Recent progress in quantum computing has under-scored the need for specialized software to effectively address the unique challenges posed by quantum systems. While early research emphasized hardware and algorithmic breakthroughs, recent progress underscores the necessity of Quantum Soft-ware Engineering (QSE), an emerging discipline that combines software lifecycle processes, tooling, hybrid orchestration, and human-centered design. This paper integrates insights from QSE and quantum software architecture (QSA) to propose a hybrid execution architecture explicitly shaped by Quantum HCI principles, emphasizing developer experience, trust, and the quality of interaction with quantum systems. While quantum software represents a new genre of software-intensive systems, existing processes and notations can be adapted to derive architecting activities and develop modeling languages for quantum software. Additionally, tool chains can incorporate reusable knowledge and roles to automate and customize the architectural process. By analyzing current research and iden-tifying existing gaps, this paper aims to guide the systematic development of robust and scalable quantum software systems. Central to this vision is meaningful human interaction, ensuring that developers can interpret, act on, and trust system outputs from design to post-execution analysis.
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.
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.