Mission

To establish a transdisciplinary forum that unites quantum technologists and systems engineers to bridge the gap between incipient technologies and mature systems engineering practices. The group will work to address the demands of integrating quantum technology development into robust engineering frameworks, ensuring that emerging quantum technologies are developed, validated, scaled, integrated, and manufactured efficiently.

Scope

Technical Domain:

• Integrating classical and quantum systems engineering processes into existing methodologies, practices and ecosystems.
• Address the unique challenges of integrating quantum effects (such as superposition, entanglement, and decoherence) within classical systems.
• Address unique challenges (e.g., risk management, verification/validation of quantum phenomena) through tailored methodologies and assurance frameworks.

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration & Outreach:

• Engage academia, industry, government, and standards bodies (e.g., IEEE, IET) to share best practices, define common vocabularies, and align with ongoing standardisation efforts without duplicating existing initiatives in the public domain.
• Engage with other INCOSE working groups such as SE in Early-Stage Research & Development to knowledge-share and avoid duplication of effort.
• Develop a broad understanding of quantum technologies community needs soliciting input from external stakeholders via proactive outreach and structured community interviews.

Lifecycle Integration:

• Cover the full spectrum from early-stage research and requirements capture to prototyping, testing, and validation.
• Coordinate with related initiatives (e.g., Royal Society discussions, DSIT, Fraunhofer, UK Quantum, INCOSE WG’s) to ensure outputs are mutually reinforcing.

Risk and Assurance:

• Develop risk management, validation protocols, and the development of assurance frameworks tailored to quantum phenomena.

Communication:

• Adopt a collaborative document repository to maintain transparency and continuity.

Goals

Frameworks & technical guidance

• Accelerate the translation of quantum research and emergent technologies into high-value, commercially viable applications.
• Increase the uptake of systems engineering practices within the quantum technology community.
• Identify and prioritise key challenges, opportunities, and collateral needs (e.g., training, standards, technical guidance) through a series of collaborative workshops and stakeholder engagements.
• Establish coherent ways to communicate to non-specialists areas where quantum technologies can or cannot offer benefits, and where appropriate allow straightforward comparison to conventional technologies through common metrics and figures of merit.
• Enable coordinated outreach and recruitment efforts that expand membership and leverage the strong industry connections (e.g., with QGI, UK Quantum, DSIT).
• Produce tangible outputs – such as white papers, technical papers, training modules, and workshops – that align with and influence ongoing standardisation and industry best practices.

Living Roadmap  & Collaborative Engagement

To emulate the successful collaborative behaviour seen in the ITRS & IRDS process, the working group will seek to develop the capacity and to adopt an integrated, dynamic road mapping approach incorporating the following elements (in collaboration with related efforts such as seen in e.g. UK-Quantum and the IET):

Note that we do not intend to replace or duplicate efforts of existing or past road mapping activities, and we will incorporate their outputs into this activity.

Roadmapping:

• Develop an online, continuously updated living roadmap that serves as a shared reference.
• Embed clear, measurable milestones and performance targets or other appropriate community agreed figures of merit aligned with industry standards and regularly updated based on emerging trends.
• Establish and communicate clear, quantitative end-user/supply-chain informed performance targets and milestones. Integrating detailed device and system performance metrics (such as reliability, scalability, and manufacturability) will help track progress and drive continuous improvement.
• Schedule explicit review cycles to assess progress, re-evaluate priorities, and update the roadmap collaboratively.

Structured Collaborative Workshops:

• Organise regular interactive workshops where all stakeholders – industry, academia, and government – co-create the roadmap using breakout sessions, consensus-building exercises, and digital collaboration tools (e.g., shared whiteboards and dashboards).
• Track contributions during these sessions using collaborative platforms so that each stakeholder’s input is visibly acknowledged and integrated into the roadmap.

Integrated Stakeholder Engagement:

• Leverage external networks (e.g., QGI, UK Quantum, DSIT) to ensure broad participation.
• Utilise online tools (such as Microsoft forms and discussion forums) for ongoing feedback and to capture ideas between workshops, ensuring a continuous dialogue that informs the roadmap.

Accountability and Transparency:

• Clearly define roles and responsibilities for roadmap development (e.g., appointing a dedicated sub-group or task force).
• Establish a progress dashboard and regular status reports so that updates, decisions, and action items are tracked and made available in a centralised repository.
• Ensure that the roadmap, associated meeting minutes, and stakeholder contributions are accessible to all group members, reinforcing transparency and trust.

Risk Management & Technology Transition:

• Develop and implement strategies for identifying and mitigating risks during the transition from laboratory research to mass production.
• Consider, and react to, the challenges in scaling up production, supply chain logistics, and cost reduction.
• Reduce the scepticism of quantum technologies and take steps to break down some of the stigma and mysticism surrounding quantum through concrete metrics and by highlighting the advantages of the technologies. Promote actions to provide evidence-based proof through de-risking activities that quantum is not simply another buzzword.

Alignment with Standards and Long-Term Objectives:

• Integrate the roadmap with ongoing standards activities and strategic initiatives at national and international levels to ensure relevance and foster collaboration with bodies such as IEEE and IET.
• Periodically review and align the roadmap with the group’s long-term objectives and external market or policy developments.

Outcomes

Collaborative Workshops and Training: Host upskilling sessions and structured interviews to understand stakeholder perspectives and gather stakeholder needs from the quantum community and share insights on integrating quantum technologies with systems engineering.

Maturation of the Field: Groundbreaking physics research has laid a firm foundation for quantum technologies. However, many quantum systems remain trapped in proof-of-concept stages reliant of scientific methodologies. We will seek to facilitate the move from physics to appropriate embedded engineering methods and practice within the community

.Supply chain engagement: Close collaboration with, and early requirement definition for key enabling areas of technology. Quantum technologies are reliant on, and need to interface with, other areas which may be immature and therefore represent risks to technology adoption. Highlight the need to flow quantum technology requirements to for example: the photonic, electronic, RF, semiconductor, cryogenics, and other enabling industries.

Standardisation & Assurance: Produce recommendations for standardising technical documentation, performance metrics, and risk management practices that are consistent with industry and regulatory standards.

Community Engagement & Recruitment: Build a vibrant network that connects researchers, industry leaders, and policy makers to sustain ongoing dialogue, collaborative projects, and knowledge transfer in quantum systems engineering.

Document Repository: Establish a centralised document repository that includes all roadmap updates, meeting minutes, and feedback records to ensure ongoing transparency and continuity.

Guidance Documents & Living Roadmap: Develop technical guidelines, best practices, and a strategic living roadmap that support the effective integration of quantum systems into complex engineering environments.