1. Consider issues of physical disabilities, allocation of resources, economic disadvantage and other factors that can diminish access to the benefits of software.
2. Improve their knowledge of relevant standards and the law governing the software and related documents on which they work.
3. The Code prescribes these as obligations of anyone claiming to be or aspiring to be a software engineer.
4. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Strive for high quality, acceptable cost and a reasonable schedule, ensuring significant tradeoffs are clear to and accepted by the employer and the client, and are available for consideration by the user and the public.
5. Identify, document, and report significant issues of social concern, of which they are aware, in software or related documents, to the employer or the client.
6. Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors in software and associated documents on which they work.
7. 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.
8. In accordance with that commitment, software engineers shall adhere to the following Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.
9. Software engineers are those who contribute by direct participation or by teaching, to the analysis, specification, design, development, certification, maintenance and testing of software systems.
10. 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.
1. Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on which they work.
2. Ensure adequate documentation, including significant problems discovered and solutions adopted, for any project on which they work.
3. Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, scheduling, personnel, quality and outcomes on any project on which they work or propose to work, and provide an uncertainty assessment of these estimates.
4. Keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work, where such confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistent with the law.
5. 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.
6. Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they perform for their primary employer.
7. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to work projects.
8. Review the work of others in an objective, candid, and properly-documented way.
9. The ultimate effect of the work should be to the public good.
10. Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, scheduling, personnel, quality and outcomes on any project on which they work or propose to work and provide an uncertainty assessment of these estimates.
1. Principle 7: COLLEAGUESSoftware engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues.
2. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.
3. Not unfairly intervene in the career of any colleague; however, concern for the employer, the client or public interest may compel software engineers, in good faith, to question the competence of a colleague.
4. 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.
5. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Accept full responsibility for their own work.
6. Ensure that software engineers know the employer's policies and procedures for protecting passwords, files and information that is confidential to the employer or confidential to others.
7. 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.
8. Attract potential software engineers only by full and accurate description of the conditions of employment.
9. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Strive for high quality, acceptable cost and a reasonable schedule, ensuring significant tradeoffs are clear to and accepted by the employer and the client, and are available for consideration by the user and the public.
10. Software engineers are those who contribute by direct participation or by teaching, to the analysis, specification, design, development, certification, maintenance and testing of software systems.
1. Recognize that personal violations of this Code are inconsistent with being a professional software engineer.
2. The Code is not simply for adjudicating the nature of questionable acts; it also has an important educational function.
3. Avoid associations with businesses and organizations which are in conflict with this code.
4. Express concerns to the people involved when significant violations of this Code are detected unless this is impossible, counter-productive, or dangerous.
5. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. In all these judgments concern for the health, safety and welfare of the public is primary; that is, the "Public Interest" is central to this Code.
9. It is not intended that the individual parts of the Code be used in isolation to justify errors of omission or commission.
10. 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.
1. Promote no interest adverse to their employer or client, unless a higher ethical concern is being compromised; in that case, inform the employer or another appropriate authority of the ethical concern.
2. 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.
3. Not punish anyone for expressing ethical concerns about a project.
4. The Code helps to define those actions that are ethically improper to request of a software engineer or teams of software engineers.
5. Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful means, and use it only in ways properly authorized.
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. The Code is not a simple ethical algorithm that generates ethical decisions.
8. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to work projects.
9. The Code is not a simple ethical algorithm that generates ethical decisions.
10. The Principles identify the ethically responsible relationships in which individuals, groups, and organizations participate and the primary obligations within these relationships.