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CISA Practice Question: In an agile development environment, an IS…
In an agile development environment, an IS auditor reviews the backlog and finds that security requirements are not explicitly included. What is the best recommendation?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose a dedicated security sprint (Option B) or final testing (Option C) because they resemble traditional security review phases, but the CISA exam emphasizes integrating security into every sprint to align with agile's continuous delivery and risk management principles.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Include security stories in the product backlog
In agile development, security should be integrated continuously rather than treated as an afterthought. Including security stories in the product backlog ensures that security requirements are prioritized, estimated, and implemented incrementally within each sprint, aligning with the agile principle of delivering value early and often. This approach embeds security into the development lifecycle from the start, reducing technical debt and vulnerabilities.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Engage external security auditors to define requirements
Why it's wrong here
External auditors can advise but the team should own security requirements.
- ✗
Allocate a separate sprint dedicated solely to security
Why it's wrong here
Separate sprints may not align with iterative nature and could miss integration.
- ✗
Perform comprehensive security testing during the final sprint
Why it's wrong here
Waiting until the end increases risk of late discovery of vulnerabilities.
- ✓
Include security stories in the product backlog
Why this is correct
Integrating security into the backlog ensures it is addressed incrementally.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CISA exam.