1. Because of their roles in developing software systems, software engineers have significant opportunities to do good or cause harm, to enable others to do good or cause harm, or to influence others to do good or cause harm.
2. Work to develop software and related documents that respect the privacy of those who will be affected by that software.
3. The dynamic and demanding context of software engineering requires a code that is adaptable and relevant to new situations as they occur.
4. Refuse to participate, as members or advisors, in a private, governmental or professional body concerned with software related issues, in which they, their employers or their clients have undisclosed potential conflicts of interest.
5. Principle 5: MANAGEMENTSoftware engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance .
6. Disclose to appropriate persons or authorities any actual or potential danger to the user, the public, or the environment, that they reasonably believe to be associated with software or related documents.
7. In particular, those managing or leading software engineers shall, as appropriate:Ensure good management for any project on which they work, including effective procedures for promotion of quality and reduction of risk.
8. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Provide service in their areas of competence, being honest and forthright about any limitations of their experience and education.
9. Maintain professional objectivity with respect to any software or related documents they are asked to evaluate.
10. The Code contains eight Principles related to the behavior of and decisions made by professional software engineers, including practitioners, educators, managers, supervisors and policy makers, as well as trainees and students of the profession.
1. Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for any project on which they work or propose.
2. Improve their knowledge of relevant standards and the law governing the software and related documents on which they work.
3. Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors in software and associated documents on which they work.
4. Work to follow professional standards, when available, that are most appropriate for the task at hand, departing from these only when ethically or technically justified.
5. Be accurate in stating the characteristics of software on which they work, avoiding not only false claims but also claims that might reasonably be supposed to be speculative, vacuous, deceptive, misleading, or doubtful.
6. These Principles should influence software engineers to consider broadly who is affected by their work; to examine if they and their colleagues are treating other human beings with due respect; to consider how the public, if reasonably well informed, would view their decisions; to analyze how the least empowered will be affected by their decisions; and to consider whether their acts would be judged worthy of the ideal professional working as a software engineer.
7. Improve their understanding of the software and related documents on which they work and of the environment in which they will be used.
8. Assign work only after taking into account appropriate contributions of education and experience tempered with a desire to further that education and experience.
9. Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on which they work.
10. Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they perform for their primary employer.
1. The Code contains eight Principles related to the behavior of and decisions made by professional software engineers, including practitioners, educators, managers, supervisors and policy makers, as well as trainees and students of the profession.
2. In accordance with that commitment, software engineers shall adhere to the following Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.
3. However, even in this generality, the Code provides support for software engineers and managers of software engineers who need to take positive action in a specific case by documenting the ethical stance of the profession.
4. Attract potential software engineers only by full and accurate description of the conditions of employment.
5. s humanity, in special care owed to people affected by the work of software engineers, and the unique elements of the practice of software engineering.
6. Principle 8: SELFSoftware engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession.
7. Ensure that software engineers are informed of standards before being held to them.
8. In particular, software engineers shall continually endeavor to:Further their knowledge of developments in the analysis, specification, design, development, maintenance and testing of software and related documents, together with the management of the development process.
9. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.
10. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Provide service in their areas of competence, being honest and forthright about any limitations of their experience and education.
1. The dynamic and demanding context of software engineering requires a code that is adaptable and relevant to new situations as they occur.
2. The Code provides an ethical foundation to which individuals within teams and the team as a whole can appeal.
3. However, even in this generality, the Code provides support for software engineers and managers of software engineers who need to take positive action in a specific case by documenting the ethical stance of the profession.
4. Improve their knowledge of this Code, its interpretation, and its application to their work.
5. Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers striving to follow this Code.
6. These situations require the software engineer to use ethical judgment to act in a manner which is most consistent with the spirit of the Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, given the circumstances.
7. Avoid associations with businesses and organizations which are in conflict with this code.
8. The Code helps to define those actions that are ethically improper to request of a software engineer or teams of software engineers.
9. Ensure that clients, employers, and supervisors know of the software engineer's commitment to this Code of ethics, and the subsequent ramifications of such commitment.
10. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.
1. The Principles identify the ethically responsible relationships in which individuals, groups, and organizations participate and the primary obligations within these relationships.
2. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.
3. Work to follow professional standards, when available, that are most appropriate for the task at hand, departing from these only when ethically or technically justified.
4. The Code is not a simple ethical algorithm that generates ethical decisions.
5. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to work projects.
6. As this Code expresses the consensus of the profession on ethical issues, it is a means to educate both the public and aspiring professionals about the ethical obligations of all software engineers.
7. These situations require the software engineer to use ethical judgment to act in a manner which is most consistent with the spirit of the Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, given the circumstances.
8. Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful means, and use it only in ways properly authorized.
9. The Code is not a simple ethical algorithm that generates ethical decisions.
10. Ethical tensions can best be addressed by thoughtful consideration of fundamental principles, rather than blind reliance on detailed regulations.