Professional Ethics and Responsibilities
What is "Professional Ethics"?
A professional is an expert in a field
- Customers rely on the knowledge, expertise, and honesty of the professional
The work of many professionals profoundly affect large numbers of people, some indirectly.
A professional advertises his or her expertise and thus has an obligation to provide it.
Professionals must maintain up to date skills and knowledge
A professional has a responsibility to act ethically. Many professions have a code of ethics that professionals are expected to abide by
Medical doctors
Lawyers and judges
Accountants
Bankers
There are special aspects to making ethical decisions in a professional context
Honesty is one of the most fundamental ethical values; however, many ethical problems are more subtle than the choice of being honest or dishonest
Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals
Provide a general statement of ethical values
Remind people in the profession that ethical behavior is an essential part of their job
Provide guidance for new or young members
ACM & IEEE Computer Society
They developed the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (adopted jointly by the ACM and IEEE CS) and the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
emphasize the basic ethical values of honesty and fairness.
cover many aspects of professional behavior, including the responsibility to respect confidentiality, maintain professional competence, be aware of relevant laws, and honor contracts and agreements.
stress the responsibility to respect and protect privacy, to avoid harm to others, and to respect property rights.
Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities
Understand what success means
Include users (such as medical staff, technicians, pilots, office workers) in the design and testing stages to provide safe and useful systems
Do a thorough, careful job when planning and scheduling a project and when writing bids or contracts
Design for real users
Don’t assume existing software is safe or correct; review and test it
Be open and honest about capabilities, safety, and limitations of software
Require a convincing case for safety
Pay attention to defaults
Develop communication skills
Methodology
Brainstorming phase
List all the people and organizations affected (the stakeholders)
List risks, issues, problems, and consequences
List benefits. Identify who gets each benefit
In cases where there is no simple yes or no decision, but rather one has to choose some action, list possible actions
Analysis phase
Identify responsibilities of the decision maker
Identify rights of stakeholders
Consider the impact of the options on the stakeholders (consequences, risks, benefits, harms, costs)
Categorize each potential action as ethically obligatory, prohibited, or acceptable
When there are multiple options, select one, considering the ethical merits of each, courtesy to others, practicality, self-interest, personal preferences, etc.