Citation: Kirpitsas, I.K.; Pachidis, T.P. Evolution towards Hybrid Software Development Methods and Information Systems Audit Challenges. Software 2022, 1, 316–363. https://doi.org/10.3390/ software1030015 Academic Editor: Tommi Mikkonen Received: 29 June 2022 Accepted: 16 August 2022 Published: 24 August 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Article Evolution towards Hybrid Software Development Methods and Information Systems Audit Challenges Ioannis K. Kirpitsas 1 and Theodore P. Pachidis 2, * 1 Department of Computer Science, International Hellenic University, Agios Loukas, 65404 Kavala, Greece 2 Human-Machines Interaction Laboratory (HUMAIN-Lab), Department of Computer Science, International Hellenic University, Agios Loukas, 65404 Kavala, Greece * Correspondence: pated@cs.ihu.gr; Tel.: +30-2510-462281 Abstract: The key objective of this paper is to investigate the evolution of hybrid software devel- opment methods and highlight the main difficulties that arise with regard to information systems (IS) auditing. While technology firms today are under constant pressure to deliver software faster due to emerging needs worldwide, this continuous effort leads to innovative development models, apparently driven by practice. Since modern software development is neither pure linear phases progression nor agile, a challenge arises with regards to selecting the appropriate combination of approaches that serve to reach goals and assure value creation for organizations. Keywords: software development; hybrid development methods; SDLC; agile; information systems audit 1. Introduction Technology firms have faced the challenge over recent decades to deliver software faster, due to the emerging need for cutting-edge digital technologies. The increased demand for software systems is reflected in the size of the information and communi- cation technology (ICT) sector globally [1], which grew from USD 2.67 trillion in 2006 to USD 5.06 trillion in 2019, with a projection to reach USD 5.82 trillion in revenue in 2023 [2]. During these years, the world entered the 4th Industrial Revolution [3], and tech- nological breakthroughs unleashed capabilities that disrupted existing economic models, creating new trends such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, blockchain, assistive technologies, digital identity systems, and robotic process automation [4,5], among others. In today’s world, the choice of a software development methodology has major concerns and often requires combinations between development approaches and infrastructure models. In response to the need for faster software systems delivery, conventional plan-based methodologies were gradually replaced by lighter agile methodologies [6], beginning in the mid-1990s. However, from the beginning of the 2000s, initial enthusiasm [7] was fol- lowed by concerns regarding the implementation and inconveniences inherent in agile methodologies. These concerns were restrained with the rise of hybrid software develop- ment methods that combined elements from both the waterfall and agile methodologies to increase efficiency throughout the software development lifecycle. Nevertheless, hybrid methods are highly individualized [6,8] by project teams, raising the challenge of making the appropriate combination of elements that serve to reach team goals and assure value creation to organizations when adopted. Together with the constant need for faster software systems delivery, information technology (IT) infrastructure requires scalability, mobility, connectivity, and elasticity to accommodate software evolutions’ radical changes and assure operations efficiency. Soon after the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” in 2001 [9], technology also manifested a trend of migration from specialized systems to dedicated services, becoming platform- Software 2022, 1, 316–363. https://doi.org/10.3390/software1030015 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/software