Misalignment challenges when integrating security requirements into mobile banking application development

This study identifies and explores the core challenge faced when integrating security requirements into the mobile application software development life cycle. Studies on key issues in Information Systems (IS) have been on-going in the past decades, with security moving up the ranks of top issues in IS. Security requirements can be added into mobile application development processes by practising secure coding or by adding a third party security tool. This study gathered data from a single case study and employs grounded theory methodology to reveal misalignment as the core challenge to integrating security requirements into mobile banking application development. Identified forms of misalignment include that between security requirements and (1) external entities, (2) roles, (3) skills and (4) system requirements. Some of the findings indicate the need for further research. Research indicates that mobile application development follows agile methods for development. Agile methods have been compared with Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). For this reason, research in IS could benefit from studies that focus on CAS as a theory to provide a better explanation on the misalignment issues in mobile application development. From the current study, the research also identified the need to address misalignment issues before embarking on a project involving integrating of security requirements.