The theory of controlled quantum open systems describes quantum systems interacting with quantum environments and influenced by external forces varying according to given algorithms. It is aimed, for instance, to model quantum devices which can find applications in the future technology based on quantum information processing. One of the main problems making difficult the practical implementations of quantum information theory is the fragility of quantum states under external perturbations. The aim of this note is to present the relevant results concerning ergodic properties of open quantum systems which are useful for the optimization of quantum devices and noise (errors) reduction. In particular we present mathematical characterization of the so-called "decoherence-free subspaces" for discrete and continuous-time quantum dynamical semigroups in terms of $C^*$-algebras and group representations. We analyze the non-Markovian models also, presenting the formulas for errors in the Born approximation. The obtained results are used to discuss the proposed different strategies of error reduction.

To appear in Proceedings of the conference "Irreversible Quantum Dynamics", Trieste, 29 July - 2 August 2002 (Springer, LNP)