vassilevaethics and professionalism 1 1.what distinguishes a professional? 2.relationships and...

Vassileva Ethics and Professionalism 1

Ethics and Professionalism 1. What distinguishes a professional?

2. Relationships and responsibilities of software/ IT professionals

3. How professional codes of ethics capture the relationships and responsibilities – ACM, IEEE-CS, CIPS

4. Professional organizations, certification, licensing

• Monday: overview, Chapter 10.2 of Baase + Appendicies

• Wednesday: continued

• Friday: holiday

• Monday after Easter :discussion on licensing for software engineers Guest – Gord McCalla

• Wednesday next week: case-based application of professional ethics codes principles and rules, see Chapter 10.3

• Friday next week: -- Project presentations

Activities


Software and IT Professionals• A professional is someone:

– who requires advanced training and experience.– who exercises discretion and judgment in work.– whose work cannot be standardized.– who can cause a great harm through dishonesty,

carelessness or incompetence.

• IT (Software) professionals – Programmers / Analysts– Database / Network administrators – Software engineers / Chief information officers

• IT professionals are involved in relationships that have different ethical issues.– Professional - employer– Professional - supplier– Professional - professional – Professional - client– Professional - IT user– Professional - society

• A professional code of ethics state the principles and core values essential to the work of a particular occupational group.

• A code of ethics has two main parts:1. Aspirations of the organization2. Rules and/or principles


Professional – Employer Relationship• Requires ongoing efforts by both parties to keep it strong.

Professionals and employers discuss many job aspects before employment begins.

• Aspects:– Keeping trade-secrets– Use of company resources – Preventing software piracy, copyright infringement – Respecting employee privacy– Whistle blowing on unethical behaviour– “Ethical organization” – official and unofficial policies, corporate

culture

Professional – Client Relationship• The professional and client each agree to provide something

of value to each other. The IT professional usually provides a hardware or software product and the client provides compensation. Usually, the obligations of each side in the relationship are expressed in formal contract.

• Aspects: – Professional uses his/her expertise, thinks and acts in the best

interests of the client.– Thorough, careful planning and scheduling of project when

writing bids or contracts.– Full and accurate reporting of project status.– Openness and honesty about capabilities, safety, limitations of

software.– Avoiding conflict of interest; unbiased advise / assessment.


Professional – Supplier Relationship• Professionals may have relationships with many

software, hardware, and service providers. The IT professional must be on guard to keep the relationships honest and business related.

• Issues:– Not making unreasonable demands to suppliers

(can affect SW or HW quality of end product)– Not putting oneself in a position of conflict of

interest by accepting presents or bribes from suppliers (what constitutes a bribe?)

Professional – Professional Relation• Professionals feel a degree of loyalty to other

members in the profession. They help support the public image of the profession.

• Professionals owe one another an adherence to

the profession’s code of conduct.• Issues:

– Not inflating each other’s resumes (fair references)– Discouraging unethical behaviour of colleagues and

accepting blame when justified– Inappropriate sharing of corporate information


Professional – User Relationship• Professionals have a duty to understand the needs and

capabilities of users and to deliver products and services that best meet those needs.

• Issues:– Include users early in the design and testing stages, design for real

users (who make mistakes)– Understand that success of an application is only defined in the

context of use by the users – Be open and honest about the capabilities, safety and limitations of

the software.– Respect privacy of users and individuals– Establish an environment that discourages unethical behaviour on

part of the user

IT Professional – Society Relation• IT professionals develop and support systems that

interact with the world around them. The public expects that the members of the IT profession will practice the profession in a way that will not bring harm to society.

• Issues:– Safeguard against all possible negative side effects– Eliminate potential public risks– Don’t assume existing software is safe– Require a convincing case for safety– Educate the public about potential risks and limitations of

software


Benefits of a Code of Ethics• Improves ethical decision-making.• Promotes high standards of practice and ethical

behavior. • Enhances trust and respect from the general public.• Provides an evaluation benchmark.

Main Existing Codes of Ethics for IT • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)• Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers (IEEE-CS)• Canadian Information Professionals Association (CIPS)

IMPORTANT!• Codes of Ethics do not provide a complete guide to

ethical behaviour. Individual ethical decision making (as discussed in week 1), informed by knowledge of possible effects and understanding of the underlying ethical principles of the ethics code is needed in practice.


Key Elements in Professional IT Codes of Ethics

• Main common elements in CIPS, ACM, IEEE Computer Society, British Computer Society– Only work or advise within your area of

competence.

– Maintain competence through continuing education.

– Work to improve the discipline or profession.

– Enhance public understanding of the discipline or profession.

– Be honest in claims or estimates.

– Avoid or disclose conflicts of interest.

– Honour property rights, including software and information.

– Access computer systems only when authorized to do so.

– Keep employer's information confidential.

– Respect privacy of individuals.

– Blow the whistle on unethical acts by other professionals.


CIPS Code of Ethics

• The following statements are agreed to by all members of CIPS as a condition of membership. I acknowledge that my position as an information processing professional carries with it certain important obligations, and I will take diligent personal responsibility for their discharge.P) To the public: I will endeavour to protect the

public interest and strive to promote understanding of information processing and its application, but will not represent myself as an authority on topics in which I lack competence.

M) To myself and my profession: I will guard my competence and effectiveness as a valuable possession, and work at maintaining them despite changing circumstances and requirements. Furthermore, I will maintain high personal standards of moral responsibility, character, and integrity when acting in my professional capacity.


CIPS Code of Ethics

F) To my colleagues: I will treat my colleagues with integrity and respect, and hold their right to success to be as important as my own. I will contribute to the professional knowledge of information processing to the best of my ability.

E) To my employer and management: I will give faithful service to further my employer's legitimate best interests through management's direction.

C) To my clients: I will give frank and careful counsel on matters within my competence, and guard my client's confidential information and private matters absolutely. In my capacity of provider of product or service, I will provide good value for my compensation, and will endeavour to protect the user of my product or service against consequential loss or harm.

S) To my students: I will provide scholarly education to my students in a sympathetic and helpful manner.


CIPS Standards Of Conduct

• The Code of Ethics is a set of ideals to which CIPS members aspire. The Standards of Conduct is intended to be more practicably enforceable. – Due to my obligation to the public:

P1) I will not unreasonably withhold information pertinent to a public issue relating to computing.

P2) I will not disseminate, nor allow to go unchallenged, false or misleading information that I believe may have significant consequence.

P3) I will not offer information or advice that I know to be false or misleading, or whose accuracy is beyond my competence to judge.

P4) I will not seek to acquire, through my position or special knowledge, for my own or other's use, information that is not rightly mine to possess.

P5) I will obey the laws of the country, and will not counsel, aid, or assist any person to act in any way contrary to these laws.

P6) I will endeavour to enhance public understanding of information processing, particularly its current capabilities and limitations, and the role of the computer as tool, not an authority.



– Due to my obligation to myself and my profession:

M1) I will not knowingly allow my competence to fall short of that necessary for reasonable execution of my duties.

M2) I will conduct my professional affairs in such a manner as to cause no harm to the stature of the profession.

M3) I will take appropriate action on reasonably certain knowledge of unethical conduct on the part of a colleague.

– Due to my obligation to my colleagues:F1) I will not unreasonably withhold

information pertinent to my work or profession.

F2) I will give full acknowledgement to the work of others.



– Due to my obligation to my employer and to my management:

E1) I will accept responsibility for my work, and for informing others with a right and need to know of pertinent parts of my work.

E2) I will not accept work that I do not feel competent to perform to a reasonable level of management satisfaction.

E3) I will guard the legitimate confidentiality of my employer's private information.

E4) I will respect and guard my employer's (and his supplier's) proprietary interest, particularly as regards data and software.

E5) I will respect the commercial aspect of my obligation to my employer.

– Due to my obligation to my clients:C1) I will be careful to ensure that proper expertise

and current professional knowledge is made available.

C2) I will avoid conflicts of interest and give notice of potential conflicts of interest.

C3) I acknowledge that statements E1 to E5, cast in the employee/employer context, are also applicable in the consultant/client context.


Ethical Decision Making

• Brainstorming Phase– List risks, issues, problems, consequences– List all people and organizations involved (the

stakeholders)– List all possible actions

• Analysis Phase– Identify responsibilities of the decision maker

(both general ethical and professional ethical responsibilities)

– Identify rights of stakeholders (negative, positive)

– Consider the impact of the possible actions on all stakeholders. Analyze consequences, risks, benefits, harms, costs for each action.

– Find sections of the Professional Ethics Code that apply to the situation.

– Categorize each potential action as ethically obligatory, ethically prohibited, or ethically acceptable.

– Consider the deontological and the utilitarian approaches for ethical decision making.


Respect for Persons (RP)• "Those rules (or duties) are right which accord equal respect

to each human person as a moral agent." – Moral Agent - A being capable of freely choosing goals or

purposes. – Rights - Rights cannot be violated even for utility.

• Hierarchy of Rights 1. Basic- life, bodily integrity, mental integrity 2. Maintenance- right not to be deceived, cheated, stolen from,

defamed, have promises broken 3. Rights necessary to increase one's level of purpose fulfillment

(advancement) such as property, self-respect, non-discrimination.

• Three tests for RP Morality 1. Rights Test - Does the action infringe the rights of anyone? 2. Golden Rule Test - Would I be willing to be the recipient of the

consequences of this action? • If I were in my situation? • If I were in the other person's situation? • If I were in the other person's situation with her values?

3. Self-Defeating Test - If everyone did what I am doing, would I be able to achieve the goal of this action?

• Applying RP Morality 1. Determine the audience. 2. Formulate the options. 3. Test the options by one or more of the Rights Test, Golden Rule Test or

Self-Defeating Test. 4. Choose the option that passes the appropriate test(s) or which violates

them least seriously.

• Problems with RP Morality 1. Conflicts of rights are hard to arbitrate. 2. Rights violations may be justified by utility in some cases.


Utilitarian Approach

• "Those actions are right which produce the most utility, or at least as much utility as any other action.

• Method 1. Determine audience 2. Determine effects of act or rule

3. Select act (rule) that maximizes utility

• Issues: 1. How do you define utility? 2. Quantity vs. Distribution of utility

Action #1: 50 units of utility for 2 people = 100 units Action #2: 1 unit of utility for 50 people = 50 units

3. What types of beings should have their utility considered? Who is in the audience?

• Act Utilitarianism – Which action will maximize utility?

• Rule Utilitarianism – If your action was generally followed (made into a

rule) would it maximize utility?

• Selecting an Action• There is convergence and a simple decision if RP and

Utilitarianism yield same conclusion. • There is divergence and a much harder decision if RP and

Utilitarianism yield different conclusion.


Certification & Licensing

• Certification is a process administered by a profession or organization that one undertakes voluntarily to prove competency in a set of skills.

• Licensing is a process generally administered by the state that professionals must undertake to prove that they can practice their profession in a way that is ethical and safe to the public.

Issues Associated with Licensing IT Professionals

• No universally accepted core body of knowledge.• It is unclear who should manage the content and

administration of licensing exams. • No body to do accreditation of professional

education programs.• No body to assess and assure competence of

individual professionals.


ISP vs P.Eng.

• There is a “battle royale” going on right now between Computer Science and Engineering, as Engineering moves increasingly into software– attempts by APEGS and other provincial

associations to change the Engineering Act

– much publicized arguments against Computer Science using the word engineering or putting on programs in software engineering: the Memorial University lawsuit

– the development of Engineering standards for software engineering, and the beginning of programs in software engineering


The Computer Science View

• Computer Scientists have developed most of the algorithms, theory, and practices underlying the development of software: they invented the field and have trained most of the practitioners

• Computer Scientists thus know best how to develop software, because they have deep knowledge of both theory and practice, and the interactions between the two

• “Software engineering” is the particular sub-discipline of Computer Science concerned with producing large-scale software

• It has been very successful: Computer Science has spun off the world’s biggest industry in less than 50 years!


The Engineering View

• Computer Science has done its job over the last 50 years and developed the basic theoretical ideas underlying software

• However, software often fails in the real world because of the failure to incorporate into its design “sound Engineering principles” (look at Y2K!)

• It is now time that the practical side of Computer Science be split from the theoretical side and be done by Engineering (as in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering): this field should be called “software engineering”, i.e. Engineers building software

• “We’re getting blamed anyway for software that fails ‘on board’ our artifacts, so we should be given control of the design of software as well as the artifact”

• For the public safety


A Compromise?

• joint standards for software engineering, monitored by SEAB (managed 50/50 by CS and Engineering)

• Universities free to put software engineering programs in Science or Engineering or wherever

• graduates of SEAB-accredited software engineering programs get choice of ISP or P.Eng


Some Questions

• What are the boundaries of “software engineering”? Does the term imply “embedded software”? Does it exclude software development for human end use? Does it include all of applied Computer Science? Are there special principles for designing embedded software?

• What similarities and differences are there between the design of software and the design of bridges? How many traditional Engineering practices are used in software development?

• Will formal certification of practitioners (either ISP or P.Eng) help to produce better software? If so, who is best positioned to do the certification?

• Is it in the public interest to restrict control over software development only to certain certified people? Who wins and who loses?

• Is Computer Science a natural science? Is there a division between exploring the science and building the artifact?

• Should other professional bodies get involved when software is designed affecting their area of practice: eg. chartered accountants, doctors, lawyers, etc.? Do they have an equal right to the “software turf”?

• How do the different types of IT workers get defined and regulated? Is it even possible to clearly distinguish these types?

• What are the implications of decisions we make about these issues on Canada’s global competitiveness?

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