Quantum Software Engineering: Roadmap and Challenges Ahead

TL;DR

This paper defines Quantum Software Engineering (QSE) as the disciplined application of software engineering principles to quantum software, arguing that the industrial adoption of quantum computing hinges on repeatable, maintainable, and interoperable practices. It surveys the fundamentals of quantum computing (qubits, superposition, entanglement, state vectors, gates, circuits, oracles, noise) and positions them within a broader software engineering context, including circuit-based and annealing models. It then analyzes active research areas—quality assurance, service-oriented computing, model-driven engineering, programming paradigms, software architectures, development processes, and AI—highlighting concrete techniques (e.g., QIR, DSMLs, mutation testing, metamorphic testing, LLM-assisted repair) and the key challenges that limit industrial-scale quantum software. The paper further identifies a six-area roadmap for software engineering in the quantum era and emphasizes the need for empirical validation, standardized interfaces, and hybrid quantum-classical architectures to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Overall, it presents a rationale and direction for advancing QSE toward robust, scalable quantum software that can operate beyond the NISQ era in industry settings.

Abstract

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 as a distinct field within the broader software engineering landscape. In this work, a group of active researchers analyse in depth the current state of quantum software engineering research. From this analysis, the key areas of quantum software engineering 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 Quantum Software Engineering.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: Example of a gate-based quantum circuit
• Figure 2: Papers on QSE over time
• Figure 3: Number of publications by topic