Empirical Studies for Quantum Software Engineering (E-QSE)

This special issue in the Empirical Software Engineering journal aims to address the growing need for empirical insights into the methodologies, tools, and practices involved in developing Quantum-Based Software Systems (QBSs). By focusing on empirical research, we seek to bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and practical applications, fostering innovation in this transformative field.

Submitted papers must have a strong empirical basis/component to be eligible for this special issue. Empirical Software Engineering (http://link.springer.com/journal/10664) provides a forum for applied software engineering research with a strong empirical component and a venue for publishing empirical results relevant to researchers and practitioners. In addition to the open call for papers, authors with an accepted paper to E-QSE 2025 (https://sites.google.com/view/e-qse/) are invited to submit extended versions of their work. To comply with the goals of a journal publication, we are asking to revise and substantially extend original E-QSE 2025 papers. Some possible extensions can include additional practical applications determined through case studies or experiments, additional empirical validation, systematic comparisons with other approaches, or a sound theoretical foundation. Revised papers should explicitly explain how they extend the original E-QSE 2025 papers.

All submissions will be reviewed using the Empirical Software Engineering Journal standards and undergo a rigorous review process. Reviews of extended papers may include reviewers of the E-QSE 2025 paper and new reviewers. The guest editors of the special issue are not permitted to submit.

Submission Topics

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Studies on the effectiveness of different development methodologies for quantum software;

- Definition and evaluation of software metrics for quantum programs;

- Empirical studies on testing methodologies for quantum software;

- Studies on integrating quantum components into classical software applications;

- Assessment of tools supporting quantum software development, including simulators, optimizers, and debuggers;

- User studies to understand the experience of software engineers working with quantum programming languages and tools;

- Case studies of quantum software engineering projects in industry settings;

- Investigation into the cognitive aspects of designing and developing quantum software;

- Lessons learned and challenges faced during the development and deployment of quantum software applications.

Submission Instructions

Papers should be submitted through the Empirical Software Engineering editorial manager website (http://www.editorialmanager.com/emse) as follows (1) select “Research Papers” and (2) later on the Additional Information page: Answer “Yes” to “Does this paper belong to a special issue?” and select “Empirical Studies for Quantum Software Engineering” for “Please select the issue your manuscript belongs to”. For formatting guidelines as well as submission instructions, visit http://www.springer.com/computer/swe/journal/10664?detailsPage=pltci_2530593

Authors should prepare their manuscript according to the Instructions for Authors available from the Journal’s submission guidelines https://link.springer.com/journal/10664/submission-guidelines. Submitted papers should present original, unpublished work, relevant to one of the topics of the special issue. All submitted papers will be evaluated on the basis of relevance, significance of contribution, technical quality, scholarship, and quality of presentation by at least two independent reviewers. It is the policy of the journal that no submission, or substantially overlapping submission, be published or be under review at another journal or conference at any time during the review process.