A Structured Lifecycle Model for Quantum Software Engineering: Bridging Technical Challenges and Future Directions

Quantum computing is one of the research areas progressing rapidly toward practical deployment, yet the engineering of scalable and reliable quantum software remains underdeveloped. Current quantum software engineering (QSE) practices are largely tools‐driven and ad hoc that providing limited support for managing probabilistic execution, hybrid quantum–classical workflows, noise sensitivity, and hardware constraints. This study proposed a structured QSE lifecycle that integrates quantum‐specific characteristics with disciplined software engineering practices and principles. The proposed lifecycle organizes development into six phases, encompassing quantum requirements engineering, formal modeling, architecture and circuit design, hybrid integration, noise‐aware testing, and deployment with monitoring. Each phase is supported by explicit artifacts and quantitative criteria to enable systematic progression and iterative refinement. The QSE is validated through expert assessment and simulation‐based experimentation using representative variational quantum algorithms under the realistic noise conditions. The results show improved fidelity convergence, reduced resource overhead, enhanced development stability (DS), and more reliable validation compared with unstructured workflows, demonstrating the value of lifecycle‐driven engineering for quantum software systems.