1. Ensure that there is a fair agreement concerning ownership of any software, processes, research, writing, or other intellectual property to which a software engineer has contributed.
2. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Accept full responsibility for their own work.
3. Ensure that software engineers are informed of standards before being held to them.
4. Attract potential software engineers only by full and accurate description of the conditions of employment.
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. Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on which they work.
7. To ensure, as much as possible, that their efforts will be used for good, software engineers must commit themselves to making software engineering a beneficial and respected profession.
8. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.
9. Work to develop software and related documents that respect the privacy of those who will be affected by that software.
10. Moderate the interests of the software engineer, the employer, the client and the users with the public good.
1. Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they perform for their primary employer.
2. Ensure that specifications for software on which they work have been well documented, satisfy the users’
3. Improve their understanding of the software and related documents on which they work and of the environment in which they will be used.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Obey all laws governing their work, unless, in exceptional circumstances, such compliance is inconsistent with the public interest.
8. Review the work of others in an objective, candid, and properly-documented way.
9. Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software and related documents on which they work.
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. 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. Principle 4: JUDGMENTSoftware engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment.
3. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.
4. Ensure that software engineers are informed of standards before being held to them.
5. Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers striving to follow this Code.
6. The Code helps to define those actions that are ethically improper to request of a software engineer or teams of software engineers.
7. 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.
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. 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.
10. PRINCIPLESPrinciple 1: PUBLICSoftware engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.
1. Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers striving to follow this Code.
2. Not influence others to undertake any action that involves a breach of this Code.
3. Report significant violations of this Code to appropriate authorities when it is clear that consultation with people involved in these significant violations is impossible, counter-productive or dangerous.
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. 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.
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. It is not intended that the individual parts of the Code be used in isolation to justify errors of omission or commission.
8. Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (Full Version)PREAMBLEComputers have a central and growing role in commerce, industry, government, medicine, education, entertainment and society at large.
9. 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.
10. Express concerns to the people involved when significant violations of this Code are detected unless this is impossible, counter-productive, or dangerous.
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. 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.
3. The Code helps to define those actions that are ethically improper to request of a software engineer or teams of software engineers.
4. The Code provides an ethical foundation to which individuals within teams and the team as a whole can appeal.
5. 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.
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. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.
8. 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.
9. Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful means, and use it only in ways properly authorized.
10. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to work projects.