Quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) is a field of operations research that is attracting growing interest due to the recent availability of quantum hardware targeted at solving QUBO problems. However, practical adoption is hindered by mathematical intricacy, hardware constraints, and a lack of sound software engineering processes for QUBO development. This work presents AQUA (Agile QUantum Annealing), an agile lifecycle for QUBO/QA development created through an industry-academia partnership between NetService S.p.A and the University of Cagliari. Using the Design Science Research (DSR) approach, AQUA customizes Scrum to the needs of QUBO/QA development, structuring work into four stages: initial assessment with formal modeling, prototype-driven algorithm selection, agile implementation, and deployment with ongoing maintenance, each gated by milestones. Validated on a real credit-scoring case, AQUA shows feasibility and offers an explicit, systematic QA engineering framework. Key contributions of our work are: a dedicated QUBO/QA software process, its creation and design using DSR approach, and its empirical validation on a simple yet real case study.

翻译：二次无约束二元优化（QUBO）是运筹学中的一个领域，由于近期面向求解QUBO问题的量子硬件逐渐可用，该领域正引起越来越多的关注。然而，实际应用受到数学复杂性、硬件限制以及缺乏健全的QUBO开发软件工程流程的阻碍。本研究提出了AQUA（敏捷量子退火），这是一种通过NetService S.p.A与卡利亚里大学之间的产学研合作创建的、面向QUBO/QA开发的敏捷生命周期。采用设计科学研究方法，AQUA将Scrum定制以适应QUBO/QA开发的需求，将工作结构化为四个阶段：基于形式化建模的初步评估、原型驱动的算法选择、敏捷实现以及包含持续维护的部署，每个阶段均设有里程碑节点。通过一个真实的信用评分案例验证，AQUA展现了可行性，并提供了一个明确、系统的QA工程框架。本工作的主要贡献包括：一个专用的QUBO/QA软件流程、基于DSR方法创建和设计该流程的过程，以及在一个简单而真实的案例研究上进行的实证验证。