Solution of a problem of determining values of a set of N problem variables x, makes use of a quantum processor that has a limited number of hardware elements for representing quantum bits and/or limitations on coupling between quantum bits. A method includes accepting a specification of the problem that includes a specification of a set of terms where each term corresponds to a product of at least three variables and is associated with a non-zero coefficient. A set of ancilla variables, each ancilla variable corresponding to a pair of problem variables, is determined by applying an optimization procedure to the specification of the set of the terms. The accepted problem specification is then transformed according to the determined ancilla variables to form a modified problem specification for use in configuring the quantum processor and solution of problem.