Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice is a practical frame-
work for moral decision-making related to problems that software engineers may en-
counter.
The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice is reproduced
here in its entirety (copyright © 2011 by ACM Publications; reprinted with permission).
Preamble
Computers have a central and growing role in commerce, industry, government, medi-
cine, education, entertainment and society at large. 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. Because of
their roles in developing software systems, software engineers have significant opportu-
nities to do good or cause harm, to enable others to do good or cause harm, or to influ-
ence others to do good or cause harm. 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. In accordance with that commitment,
software engineers shall adhere to the following Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.
The Code contains eight Principles related to the behavior of and decisions made by
professional software engineers, including practitioners, educators, managers, supervi-
sors and policymakers, as well as trainees and students of the profession. The Principles
identify the ethically responsible relationships in which individuals, groups, and organi-
zations participate and the primary obligations within these relationships. The Clauses
of each Principle are illustrations of some of the obligations included in these relation-
ships. These obligations are founded in the software engineer'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. The Code prescribes these as obligations of anyone
claiming to be or aspiring to be a software engineer.
It is not intended that the individual parts of the Code be used in isolation to justify
errors of omission or commission. The list of Principles and Clauses is not exhaustive.
The Clauses should not be read as separating the acceptable from the unacceptable in
professional conduct in all practical situations. The Code is not a simple ethical algo-
rithm that generates ethical decisions. In some situations standards may be in tension
with each other or with standards from other sources. These situations require the soft-
ware 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.
Ethical tensions can best be addressed by thoughtful consideration of fundamental
principles, rather than blind reliance on detailed regulations. These Principles should in-
fluence 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. In
