ACM and Software Engineering Codes of Ethics

ACM 2.4

Accept and provide appropriate professional review

SE 1.01

Accept full responsibility for their own work

SE 2.08

Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they perform for their primary employer

ACM 2.8

Access computing and communication resources only when authorized to do so

ACM 3.3

Acknowledge and support proper and authorized uses of an organization's computing and communication resources

ACM 2.2

Acquire and maintain professional competence

SE 1.03

Approve software only if they have a well-founded belief that it is safe, meets specifications, passes appropriate tests, and does not diminish the quality of life, diminish privacy, or harm the environment. The ultimate effect of the work should be to the public good

ACM 3.5

Articulate and support policies that protect the dignity of users and others affected by a computing system

ACM 3.1

Articulate social responsibilities of members of an organizational unit and encourage full acceptance of those responsibilities

SE 5.04

Assign work only after taking into account appropriate contributions of education and experience tempered with a desire to further that education and experience

SE 5.06

Attract potential software engineers only by full and accurate description of the conditions and employment

ACM 1.2

Avoid harm to others

SE 3.13

Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful means, and use it only in ways properly authorized

SE 1.08

Be encouraged to volunteer professional skills to good causes and contribute to public education concerning the discipline

SE 1.06

Be fair and avoid deception in all statements, particularly public ones, concerning software or related documents, methods and tools

ACM 1.4

Be fair and take action not to discriminate

ACM 1.3

Be honest and trustworthy

SE 1.07

Consider issues of physical disabilities, allocation of resources, economic disadvantage, and other factors that can diminish access to the benefits of software

ACM 1.1

Contribute to society and human well-being

SE 1.05

Cooperate in efforts to address matters of grave public concern caused by software, its installation, maintenance, support, or documentation

ACM 3.6

Create opportunities for members of the organization to learn the principles and limitations of computer systems

SE 4.05

Disclose to all concerned parties those conflicts of interest that cannot reasonably be avoided or escaped

SE 1.04

Disclose to appropriate persons or authorities any actual or potential danger to the user, the public, or the environment, that they reasonably believe to be associated with software or related documents

SE 3.11

Ensure adequate documentation, including significant problems discovered and solutions adopted, for any project on which they work

SE 3.10

Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software and related documents on which they work

SE 3.05

Ensure an appropriate method is used for any project on which they work or propose to work

SE 5.01

Ensure good management for any project on which they work, including effective procedures for promotion of quality and reduction of risk

SE 3.02

Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for any project on which they work or propose

SE 3.09

Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, scheduling, personnel, quality, and outcomes on any project on which they work or propose to work and provide an uncertainty assessment of these estimates

SE 5.05

Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, scheduling, personnel, quality, and outcomes on any project on which they work or propose to work, and provide an uncertainty assessment of these estimates

SE 2.04

Ensure that any document upon which they rely has been approved, when required, by someone authorized to approve it

SE 5.02

Ensure that software engineers are informed of standards before being held to them

SE 5.03

Ensure that software engineers know the employer's policies and procedures for protecting passwords, files, and information that is confidential to the employer or confidential to others

SE 3.08

Ensure that specifications for software on which they work have been well-documented, satisfy users' requirements, and have the appropriate approvals

SE 3.03

Ensure that they are qualified for any project on which they work or propose to work by an appropriate combination of education, training, and experience

SE 3.04

Ensure that they are qualified for any project on which they work or propose to work by an appropriate combination of education, training, and experience

ACM 3.4

Ensure that users and those who will be affected by a system have their needs clearly articulated during the assessment and design of requirements; later the system must be validated to meet requirements

ACM 2.5

Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer systems and their impacts, including analysis of possible risks

ACM 1.6

Give proper credit for intellectual property

ACM 1.8

Honor confidentiality

ACM 2.6

Honor contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities

ACM 1.5

Honor property rights including copyrights and patents

SE 2.07

Identify, document, and report significant issues of social concern, of which they are aware, in software or related documents, to the employer or the client

SE 2.06

Identify, document, collect evidence, and report to the client or the employer promptly if, in their opinion, a project is likely to fail, to prove too expensive, to violate intellectual property law, or otherwise to be problematic

ACM 2.7

Improve public understanding of computing and its consequences

SE 2.05

Keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work, where such confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistent with the law

ACM 2.3

Know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work

SE 4.03

Maintain professional objectivity with respect to any software or related documents they are asked to evaluate

SE 3.14

Maintain the integrity of data, being sensitive to outdated or flawed occurrences

ACM 3.2

Manage personnel and resources to design and build information systems that enhance the quality of working life

SE 1.02

Moderate the interests of the software engineer, the employer, the client, and the users with the public good

SE 4.04

Not engage in deceptive financial practices such as bribery, double billing, or other improper financial practices

SE 2.02

Not knowingly use software that is obtained or retained either illegally or unethically

SE 5.08

Not unjustly prevent someone from taking a position for which that person is suitably qualified

SE 5.07

Offer fair and just remuneration

SE 4.02

Only endorse documents either prepared under their supervision or within their areas of competence and with which they are in agreement

SE 2.09

Promote no interest adverse to their employer or client, unless a higher ethical concern is being compromised; in that case, inform the employer or another appropriate authority of the ethical concern

SE 2.01

Provide service in their areas of competence, being honest and forthright about any limitations of their experience and education

SE 4.06

Refuse to participate, as members or advisers, in a private, governmental or professional body concerned with software related issues, in which they, their employers or their clients have undisclosed potential conflicts of interest

ACM 1.7

Respect the privacy of others

SE Principle 5: Management

Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote and ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance

SE Principle 1: Public

Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest

SE Principle 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

SE Principle 6: Profession

Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest

SE Principle 7: Colleagues

Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues

SE Principle 3: Product

Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible

SE Principle 4: Judgement

Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgement

SE Principle 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

SE 3.01

Strive for high quality, acceptable cost, and a reasonable schedule, ensuring significant tradeoffs are clear to and accepted by the employer and the client, and are available for consideration by the user and the public

ACM 2.1

Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the process and products of professional work

SE 3.07

Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on which they work

SE 4.01

Temper all technical judgements by the need to support and maintain human values

SE 3.15

Treat all forms of software maintenance with the same professionalism as new development

ACM 4.2

Treat violations of this Code as inconsistent with membership in the ACM

ACM 4.1

Uphold and promote the principles of this Code

SE 2.03

Use the property of a client or employer only in ways properly authorized, and with the client's or employer's knowledge and consent

SE 3.06

Work to follow professional standards, when available, that are most appropriate for the task at hand, departing from these only when ethically and technically justified

SE 3.12

work to develop software and related documents that respect the privacy of those who will be affected by that software