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Lahore Garrison University

CSC372-Professional Practices
Week-2 Lecture-3
BSCS Semester-3rd, Fall 2023
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Previous Lecture Recap

In last lecture we have learnt

 Computing Profession , Traits and ethics

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Today’s Outline

 Introduction
 IEEE code of Ethics
 ACM code of Ethics

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Introduction

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Professional Codes of Ethics

 State the principles and core values that are essential to the work of an
occupational group
 Most codes of ethics include:
 What the organization aspires to become
 Rules and principles by which members of the organization are expected to
abide
 Many codes also include commitment to continuing education for those
who practice the profession
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Professional Codes of Ethics
(cont’d.)

 Following a professional code of ethics can produce benefits for the

individual, the profession, and society as a whole
 Ethical decision making
 High standards of practice and ethical behavior
 Trust and respect from general public
 Evaluation benchmark for self-assessment
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Professional Practice

Software Engineering
Code of Ethics and
Professional Practice
d b y
op te
Ad ACM
EE-CS
IE
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IEEE code of Ethics

 1. PUBLIC –
 2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER –
 3. PRODUCT –
 4. JUDGMENT –
 5. MANAGEMENT –
 6. PROFESSION –
 7. COLLEAGUES –
 8. SELF –
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Principle 1: PUBLIC

 Software engineers shall act consistently with the public

interest .Software Engineer shall, as appropriate
 Accept full responsibility for their own work.
 Moderate the interests of the software engineer, the employer, the
client, and the users with the public good.
 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.
 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.
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Principle 1: PUBLIC

 Software engineers shall act consistently with the public

interest .Software Engineer shall, as appropriate
 Cooperate in efforts to address matters of grave public concern caused
by software, its installation, maintenance, support, or documentation.
 Be fair and avoid deception in all statements, particularly public ones,
concerning software or related documents, methods and tools.
 Consider issues of allocation of resources, economic disadvantage,
and other factors that can diminish access to the benefits of software.
 Be encouraged to volunteer professional skills to good causes and
contribute to public education concerning the discipline.
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Principle 2: CLIENT AND EMPLOYER

Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the

best interests of their client and employer, consistent
with the public interest. Software Engineer shall, as
appropriate
 Provide service in their areas of competence, being honest and
forthright about any limitations of their experience and education.
 Not knowingly use software that is obtained or retained either illegally
or unethically.
 Use the property of a client or employer only in ways properly
authorized, and with the client’s or employer’s knowledge and consent.
 Ensure that any document upon which they rely has been approved,
when required, by someone authorized to approve it.
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Principle 2: CLIENT AND EMPLOYER

Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their
client and employer, consistent with the public interest. Software Engineer
shall, as appropriate
 Keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work, where such
confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistent with the law.
 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.
 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.
 Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they perform for their primary
employer.
 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
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Principle 3: PRODUCT

Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the

highest professional standards possible .

 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.
 Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for any project on which they work or
propose.
 Identify, define, and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues
related to work projects.
 Ensure that they are qualified for any project on which they work or propose to work by an
appropriate combination of education, training, and experience.
 Ensure an appropriate method is used for any project on which they work or propose to work.
 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.
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Principle 3: PRODUCT

Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related

modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
 Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on which they work.
 Ensure that specifications for software on which they work have been well
documented, satisfy the users’ requirements, and have the appropriate
approvals.
 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.
 Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software and related
documents on which they work.
 Ensure adequate documentation, including significant problems discovered and
solutions adopted, for any project on which they work.
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Principle 3: PRODUCT

Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related

modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
 Work to develop software and related documents that respect the
privacy of those who will be affected by that software.
 Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful
means, and use it only in ways properly authorized.
 Maintain the integrity of data, being sensitive to outdated or flawed
occurrences.
 Treat all forms of software maintenance with the same professionalism
as new development.
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Principle 4: JUDGEMENT

Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in

their professional judgement .
 Temper all technical judgments by the need to support and maintain human
values.
 Only endorse documents either prepared under their supervision or within their
areas of competence and with which they are in agreement.
 Maintain professional objectivity with respect to any software or related
documents they are asked to evaluate.
 Not engage in deceptive financial practices such as bribery, double billing, or
other improper financial practices.
 Disclose to all concerned parties those conflicts of interest that cannot
reasonably be avoided or escaped.
 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.
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Principle 5: MANAGEMENT

Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an

ethical approach to the management of software development and
maintenance .
 Ensure good management for any project on which they work, including effective
procedures for promotion of quality and reduction of risk.
 Ensure that software engineers are informed of standards before being held to them.
 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.
 Assign work only after taking into account appropriate contributions of education and
experience tempered with a desire to further that education and experience.
 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.
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Principle 5: MANAGEMENT

Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical
approach to the management of software development and maintenance .
 Attract potential software engineers only by full and accurate description of the conditions of
employment.
 Offer fair remuneration(salary).
 Not unjustly prevent someone from taking a position for which that person is suitably qualified.
 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.
 Provide for due process in hearing charges of violation of an employer’s policy or of this Code.
 Not ask a software engineer to do anything inconsistent with this Code.
 Not punish anyone for expressing ethical concerns about a project.
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Principle 6: PROFESSION

Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession
consistent with the public interest.
 Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.
 Promote public knowledge of software engineering.
 Extend software engineering knowledge by appropriate participation in professional
organizations, meetings, and publications.
 Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers striving to follow this Code.
 Not promote their own interest at the expense of the profession, client, or employer.
 Obey all laws governing their work, unless, in exceptional circumstances, such compliance is
inconsistent with the public interest.
 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 misleading, or doubtful.
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Principle 6: PROFESSION

Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the

profession consistent with the public interest.
 Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors in software and associated
documents on which they work.
 Ensure that clients, employers, and supervisors know of the software engineer’s commitment
to this Code of ethics, and the subsequent ramifications(difficulties) of such commitment.
 Avoid associations with businesses and organizations which are in conflict with this code.
 Recognize that violations of this Code are inconsistent with being a professional software
engineer.
 Express concerns to the people involved when significant violations of this Code are detected
unless this is impossible, counter-productive, or dangerous.
 Report significant violations of this Code to appropriate authorities when it is clear that
consultation with people involved in these significant violations is impossible or dangerous.
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Principle 7: Colleagues

Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues.

 Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.
 Assist colleagues in professional development.
 Credit fully the work of others and refrain from taking undue credit.
 Review the work of others in an objective, candid, (open) and properly-documented
way.
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Principle 7: Colleagues

Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues.

 Give a fair hearing to the opinions, concerns, or complaints of a colleague.
 Assist colleagues in being fully aware of current standard work practices including policies
and procedures for protecting passwords, files, and other confidential information, and
security measures in general.
 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.
 In situations outside of their own areas of competence, call upon the opinions of other
professionals who have competence in that area.
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Principle 8: SELF

Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice

of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the
profession.
 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.
 Improve their ability to create safe, reliable, and useful quality software at reasonable
cost and within a reasonable time.
 Improve their ability to produce accurate, informative, and well-written documentation.
 Improve their understanding of the software and related documents on which they work
and of the environment in which they will be used.
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Principle 8: SELF

Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their
profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession.
 Improve their knowledge of relevant standards and the law governing the software and related
documents on which they work.
 Improve their knowledge of this Code, its interpretation, and its application to their work.
 Not give unfair treatment to anyone because of any irrelevant prejudices.
 Not influence others to undertake any action that involves a breach(break) of this Code.
 Recognize that personal violations of this Code are inconsistent with being a professional
software engineer.
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Professional Practice

Association for Comp

uting Machinery
ACM Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct
pted by
Ado ACM
EE-CS
IE
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ACM code of Ethics

 Contribute to society and human well-being.

 Avoid harm to others.
 Be honest and trustworthy.
 Be fair and take action not to discriminate.
 Honor property rights including copyrights and patent.
 Respect the privacy of others.
 Honor confidentiality.
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More Specific Professional Responsibilities:”
As an ACM Computing Professional I will”:

 Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the process
and products of professional work.
 Acquire and maintain professional competence.
 Know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work.
 Accept and provide appropriate professional review.
 Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer systems and their
impacts, including analysis of possible risks.
 Honor contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities.
 Improve public understanding of computing and its consequences.
 Access computing and communication resources only when authorized to do so.
 Organizational Leadership Imperatives: :” As an ACM 28
Computing Professional I will”:

 Articulate(clear) social responsibilities of members of an organizational unit and

encourage full acceptance of those responsibilities.
 Acknowledge and support proper and authorized uses of an organization’s
computing and communication resources.
 Ensure that users and those who will be affected by a system have their needs
clearly articulated during the assessment and design of requirements; later the
system must be validated to meet requirements.
 Articulate and support policies that protect the dignity of users and others affected
by a computing system.
 Create opportunities for members of the organization to learn the principles and
limitations of computer systems.
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Compliance with the Code:” As an ACM Computing
Professional I will”:

 Uphold and promote the principles of this Code.

 Treat violations of this Code as inconsistent with membership in the
ACM.
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Code of Ethics Goals

 Intellectual Property
 Privacy
 Confidentiality
 Professional quality
 Fairness or discrimination
 Liability
 Software risks
 Conflicts of interest
 Unauthorized access to computer systems

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Summary

 Today we have learnt

 IEEE code of ethics
 ACM code of ethics

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References

 These lecture notes were taken from following source:

 Professional Issues in Software Engineering M.F. Bott
et al. Latest edition
 Computer Ethics, Deborah G. Johnson, Pearson
Education (2001) 3rd edition

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