Short answers, pulled from the story.
Akira Yasuda, also known as Akiman, designed Ibuki during the development of Street Fighter III: New Generation in 1997. The team wanted a female character to balance the roster, and Yasuda suggested making her a ninja.
Ibuki was released as a downloadable character in July 2016 after a delay from the originally planned May release. Her prologue story showed her completing her ninja assignment and receiving an invitation to a party from her rival, Karin Kanzuki.
Ibuki was given a long ponytail which became a technical nightmare for the animation team. The ponytail increased her character data by 1.2 to 1.3 times that of other fighters, requiring months of work to finalize.
Ibuki and R. Mika traveled to New York City to investigate the activation of the seven Black Moons. They discovered the plot was orchestrated by Shadaloo and later witnessed Zangief defeat Abel.
Kinu Nishimura, a fellow character designer, emphasized the cute aspect of Ibuki to create the final look. This design choice resulted in a character who looked shabby yet cute, a contradiction that defined her personality.