Challenges and Solutions for Addressing Software Security in Agile Software Development: A Literature Review and Rigor and Relevance Assessment

There has been a surge in the number of software security threats and vulnerabilities in recent times. At the same time, expectations towards software and data security are growing. Thus, there is a need to ensure that security-related tasks are effectively integrated in the software development processes. However, integrating security practices with agile software development is not trivial due to, for instance, differences in process dynamics and the concentration on functional vs non-functional requirements. In this article, the authors present a literature review on the challenges and solutions when adopting security in an agile software development context. Their findings suggest that there are ongoing efforts to integrate security-practices in agile methods, but more research is needed to make the processes more optimized and simpler for developers. A rigor and relevance assessment on primary studies highlights a need for improving the manner in which studies on the topic are performed as well as reported.