IEEE CS/ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Practice
The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, produced by the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Computer Society (IEEE CS) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), acts as a professional standard for teaching and practicing software engineering. It specifies ethical and professional obligations of software engineers and states the standards that standards society at large expects them to meet and what they should expect of one another. The code also tells the public what they should expect from software engineers. The code was produced by a multinational task force which considered input from a variety of sources including industrial, government and military installations and educational professions. An informative article of about the development of the code, which includes a full copy of the code itself was published in the October 1999 issue of ACM Computer. According to the shortened version of the code:
Software engineers shall commit themselves to making the analysis, specification, design, development, testing and maintenance of software a beneficial and respected profession. In accordance with their commitment to the health, safety and welfare of the public, software engineers shall adhere to the following Eight Principles:
- Public: Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.
- 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.
- Product: Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
- Judgement: Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment.
- Management: Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance.
- Profession: Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest.
- Colleagues: Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues.
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.
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