1. Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers striving to follow this Code.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software and related documents on which they work.
5. In accordance with that commitment, software engineers shall adhere to the following Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.
6. Be fair and avoid deception in all statements, particularly public ones, concerning software or related documents, methods and tools.
7. Promote public knowledge of software engineering.
8. 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.
9. Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors in software and associated documents on which they work.
10. 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.
1. Credit fully the work of others and refrain from taking undue credit.
2. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to work projects.
3. Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for any project on which they work or propose.
4. 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.
5. Assign work only after taking into account appropriate contributions of education and experience tempered with a desire to further that education and experience.
6. Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software and related documents on which they work.
7. The ultimate effect of the work should be to the public good.
8. 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.
9. Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on which they work.
10. 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.
1. Principle 2: CLIENT AND EMPLOYERSoftware engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer, consistent with the public interest.
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. Principle 6: PROFESSIONSoftware engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest.
5. 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.
6. Principle 7: COLLEAGUESSoftware engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues.
7. 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.
8. Principle 4: JUDGMENTSoftware engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment.
9. 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.
10. Principle 3: PRODUCTSoftware engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
1. Provide for due process in hearing charges of violation of an employer's policy or of this Code.
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. It is not intended that the individual parts of the Code be used in isolation to justify errors of omission or commission.
4. Improve their knowledge of this Code, its interpretation, and its application to their work.
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. 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. Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers striving to follow 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. The Code is not a simple ethical algorithm that generates ethical decisions.
10. Not influence others to undertake any action that involves a breach of this Code.
1. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to work projects.
2. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Not punish anyone for expressing ethical concerns about a project.
6. The Principles identify the ethically responsible relationships in which individuals, groups, and organizations participate and the primary obligations within these relationships.
7. The Code helps to define those actions that are ethically improper to request of a software engineer or teams of software engineers.
8. Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful means, and use it only in ways properly authorized.
9. 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.
10. 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.