Although some articles have been written about integrated audits, they do not examine combining audits for ISO 9001 (quality management systems) and ISO 27001 (information security management systems). This topic is relevant across a wide spectrum of the Quality Management and research community, not to mention external auditors and staff with operations and information technology responsibilities. Furthermore, it provides insights into the new version of PAS 99 (specification for integrated management systems (IMS)). Quality Management practitioners may not be fully aware of the affordances of an IMS and combining internal audits. However, integrated audits make it possible to achieve efficiencies in the audit process whilst maintaining the benefits gained from audits such as process improvements. Clusters of research propositions were derived from a literature review comprising academic and professional sources and tested within a commercial organisation. The sample comprised internal auditors, auditees and external auditors. The findings and conclusions point to a reduction in audit effort, the number of audits and the audit resource required. A framework for establishing integrated audits is formulated.

Agile software requirements engineering processes enable quick responses to reflect changes in the client’s software requirements. However, there are challenges associated with agile requirements engineering processes, which hinder fast, sustainable software development. Research addressing the challenges with available solutions is patchy, diverse and inclusive. In this study, we use a systematic literature review coupled with thematic classification and gap mapping analysis to examine extant solutions against challenges; the typologies/classifications of challenges faced with agile software development in general and specifically in requirements engineering and how the solutions address the challenges. Our study covers the period from 2009 to 2023. Scopus—the largest database for credible academic publications was searched. Using the exclusion criteria to filter the articles, a total of 78 valid papers were selected and reviewed. Following our investigation, we develop a framework that takes a three-dimensional view of agile requirements engineering solutions and suggest an orchestrated approach balancing the focus between the business context, project management and agile techniques. This study contributes to the theoretical frontier of agile software requirement engineering approaches and guidelines for practice.

Articulated within this paper is a qualitative investigation into using structuration and semiotic theories that suggests improvements to communication when developing new software. Forming the analysis, an Information System (IS) designed using the Unified Modelling Language (UML) allied with the Agile software development process exposed a key factor: the need for effective communication. This factor caused a negative outcome when developing a new IS necessary to support the digitalisation of a business. Analysing the conditions and adjusting requirements modelling with structuration and semiotic theories, team members expressed with clarity requirements for their new IS as real-world effects and causes. Such cause and effect statements align to Peircean interpretant signs that facilitated effective communication.

Software is an essential commodity that ensures mobile phones to the controls of an aeroplane work. There will always be more requirements for software than there is time and budget to achieve them, hence the need for various prioritisation approaches to decide which requirements to include in the software. There are also constraints for startups, such as small teams and multiple influencers, which must be considered when choosing a prioritisation approach. The wrong approach can waste resources and cause customer dissatisfaction. There is limited research linked to the limitations of requirements prioritisation approaches; however, this research helps to address the research gap. For example, the main contribution identifies 16 limitations associated with five popular prioritisation approaches combined with a framework which identifies the relationships between these limitations. The five requirement prioritisation approaches studied were analytic hierarchy process (AHP), quality functional deployment (QFD), the planning game, binary search tree, and $100 allocation.

Software startups bring innovative products to the market. However, such innovation is at the cost of highly educated guesswork about customer expectations and quick decision making by persons responsible for strategic planning and implementation. It is therefore of interest to understand the challenges and practices faced by startups that aim to release something innovative in selected market segments. Hence, this chapter investigates the challenges faced by entrepreneurs of startups and the practices they follow to become successful. The specific challenges explored include (1) how startups handle software evolution, (2) challenges faced in releasing products to the market, and (3) the state of affairs of software engineering in startups. Results indicate that despite guidance and support in terms of well-known and documented development methods, practitioners find it difficult to implement and apply these in practice. They must quickly evolve their products to sustain in the market, and the market is highly uncertain, which makes the complete process highly probabilistic.