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1.2 Software engineering ethics 15

Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice
ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Task Force on Software Engineering Ethics and Professional Practices
PREAMBLE
The short version of the code summarizes aspirations at a high level of the abstraction; the clauses that are
included in the full version give examples and details of how these aspirations change the way we act as
software engineering professionals. Without the aspirations, the details can become legalistic and tedious;
without the details, the aspirations can become high sounding but empty; together, the aspirations and the
details form a cohesive 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:
1. PUBLIC — Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.
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.
3. PRODUCT — Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related
modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
4. JUDGMENT — Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their
professional judgment.
5. MANAGEMENT — Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and
promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and
maintenance.
6. PROFESSION — Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of
the profession consistent with the public interest.
7. COLLEAGUES — Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their
colleagues.
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.

Professional societies and institutions have an important role to play in setting
Figure 1.3 The
ACM/IEEE Code of ethical standards. Organizations such as the ACM, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical
Ethics (© IEEE/ACM and Electronic Engineers), and the British Computer Society publish a code of
1999) professional conduct or code of ethics. Members of these organizations undertake to
follow that code when they sign up for membership. These codes of conduct are gen-
erally concerned with fundamental ethical behavior.
Professional associations, notably the ACM and the IEEE, have cooperated to
produce a joint code of ethics and professional practice. This code exists in both a
short form, shown in Figure 1.3, and a longer form (Gotterbarn et al., 1999) that adds
detail and substance to the shorter version. The rationale behind this code is summa-
rized in the first two paragraphs of the longer form:

Computers have a central and growing role in commerce, industry, government,
medicine, education, entertainment and society at large. Software engineers are
those who contribute by direct participation or by teaching, to the analysis, spec-
ification, design, development, certification, maintenance and testing of software