Handouts of Lecture 4 Professional Practices (CS)

Lecture Title: Eight Principles Identify Morally Responsible Relationships

Principles
PRINCIPLE 1: PUBLIC
Computing Professionals shall act consistently with the public interest. In particular, Computing
Professionals shall, as appropriate:
1.01 Accept full responsibility for their own work.
1.02 Moderate the interests of the Computing Professional, the employer, the client and the users
with the public good.
1.03 Approve software only if they have a well-founded belief that it is safe, meets specifications,
passes appropriate tests, and does not diminish quality of life, diminish privacy or harm the
environment. The ultimate effect of the work should be to the public good.
1.04 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.
1.05 Cooperate in efforts to address matters of grave public concern caused by software, its
installation, maintenance, support or documentation.
1.06 Be fair and avoid deception in all statements, particularly public ones, concerning software
or related documents, methods and tools.
1.07 Consider issues of physical disabilities, allocation of resources, economic disadvantage and
other factors that can diminish access to the benefits of software.
1.08 Be encouraged to volunteer professional skills to good causes and contribute to public
education concerning the discipline.
PRINCIPLE 2: CLIENT AND EMPLOYER
Computing Professionals shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and
employer, consistent with the public interest. In particular, Computing Professionals shall, as
appropriate:
2.01 Provide service in their areas of competence, being honest and forthright about any limitations
of their experience and education.
2.02 Not knowingly use software that is obtained or retained either illegally or unethically.
2.03 Use the property of a client or employer only in ways properly authorized, and with the clients
or employer’s knowledge and consent.
2.04 Ensure that any document upon which they rely has been approved, when required, by
someone authorized to approve it.
2.05 Keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work, where such
confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistent with the law.
2.06 Identify, document, collect evidence and report to the client or the employer promptly if, in
their opinion, a project is likely to fail, to prove too expensive, to violate intellectual property law,
or otherwise to be problematic.
2.07 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.
2.08 Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they perform for their primary employer.
2.09 Promote no interest adverse to their employer or client, unless a higher ethical concern is

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being compromised; in that case, inform the employer or another appropriate authority of the
ethical concern.

PRINCIPLE 3: PRODUCT

Computing professionals shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the

Highest professional standards possible. In particular, computing professionals shall, as

3.01 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.

3.02 Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for any project on which they work or
propose.

3.03 Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues
related to work projects.

3.04 Ensure that they are qualified for any project on which they work or propose to work by an
appropriate combination of education and training, and experience.

3.05 Ensure an appropriate method is used for any project on which they work or propose to
work.

3.06 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.

3.07 Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on which they work.

3.08 Ensure that specifications for software on which they work have been well documented,
satisfy the users’ requirements and have the appropriate approvals.

3.09 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.

3.10 Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software and related documents on
which they work.

3.11 Ensure adequate documentation, including significant problems discovered and solutions
adopted, for any project on which they work.

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3.12 Work to develop software and related documents that respect the privacy of those who will
be affected by that software.

3.13 Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful means, and use it only in
ways properly authorized.

3.14 Maintain the integrity of data, being sensitive to outdated or flawed occurrences.

3.15 Treat all forms of software maintenance with the same professionalism as new
development.

PRINCIPLE 4: JUDGMENT

Computing professionals shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional

In particular, computing professionals shall, as appropriate:

4.01 Temper all technical judgments by the need to support and maintain human values.

4.02 Only endorse documents either prepared under their supervision or within their areas of
competence and with which they are in agreement.

4.03 Maintain professional objectivity with respect to any software or related documents they are
asked to evaluate.

4.04 Not engage in deceptive financial practices such as bribery, double billing, or other
improper financial practices.

4.05 Disclose to all concerned parties those conflicts of interest that cannot reasonablybe avoided
or escaped.

4.06 Refuse to participate, as members or advisors, in a private, governmental or professional

PRINCIPLE 5: MANAGEMENT

Computing profession managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to
the management of software development and maintenance. In particular, those managing or
leading computing professionals shall, as appropriate:

5.01 Ensure good management for any project on which they work, including effective
procedures for promotion of quality and reduction of risk.

5.02 Ensure that computing professionals are informed of standards before being held to them.

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5.03 Ensure that computing professionals know the employer’s policies and procedures for
protecting passwords, files and information that is confidential to the employer or confidential to
others.

5.04 Assign work only after taking into account appropriate contributions of education and
experience tempered with a desire to further that education and experience.

5.05 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.

5.06 Attract potential computing professionals only by a full and accurate description of the
conditions of employment.

5.07 Offer fair and just remuneration.

5.08 Not unjustly prevent someone from taking a position for which that person is suitably
qualified.

5.09 Ensure that there is a fair agreement concerning ownership of any software, processes,
research, writing, or other intellectual property to which a computing professional has
contributed.

5.10 Provide for due process in hearing charges of violation of an employer’s policy or of this
Code.

5.11 Not ask a computing professional to do anything inconsistent with this Code.

5.12 Not punish anyone for expressing ethical concerns about a project.

PRINCIPLE 6: PROFESSION

Computing professionals shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent
with the public interest. In particular, computing professionals shall, as appropriate:

6.01 Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.

6.02 Promote public knowledge of computing profession.

6.03 Extend computing profession knowledge by appropriate participation in professional

6.04 Support, as members of a profession, other computing professionals striving to follow this
Code.

6.05 Not promote their own interest at the expense of the profession, client or employer.

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6.06 Obey all laws governing their work, unless, in exceptional circumstances, such compliance
is inconsistent with the public interest.

6.07 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.

6.08 Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors in software and associated
documents on which they work.

6.09 Ensure that clients, employers, and supervisors know of the computing professional’s
commitment to this Code of ethics, and the subsequent ramifications of such commitment.

6.10 Avoid associations with businesses and organizations which are in conflict with this code.

6.11 Recognize that violations of this Code are inconsistent with being a professional computing
professional.

6.12 Express concerns to the people involved when significant violations of this Code are
detected unless this is impossible, counter-productive, or dangerous.

6.13 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.

Reference:
Lecture topic: Professional Ethics slides

Gao, Y. (2012). Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. World
Libraries, 20(1).

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