CMSC 345, Fall 2002 1

Ethics in Software Engineering

The source of questions marked with [Pfleeger] is Software Engineering, by Shari Pfleeger, 1998.

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 2

ethic - 1. A system of moral standards or values. 2. A particular moral standard or value.

ethical - 1. Having to do with ethics or morality; of or conforming to moral standards. 2. Conforming to the standards of conduct of a given profession or group. Synonym: moral

Source: Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 3rd edition

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 3

Who’s Responsible? (1)(Requirements)

Developers work together with customers and users to define requirements and specify what the proposed system will do.

If, once it is built, the system works according to specification but harms someone physically or financially, who is responsible?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 4

Who’s Responsible? (2)

What are the legal and ethical implications of using COTS software? For example, who is responsible for fixing the problem when the major system fails as a result of a fault in COTS software?

What checks and balances are needed to ensure the quality of COTS software before it is integrated into a larger system?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 5

Who’s Responsible? (3)

What are the legal and ethical implications of using a subcontractor? For example, who is responsible for fixing the problem when the major system fails as a result of a fault in the subcontractor’s software?

What checks and balances are needed to ensure the quality of subcontractor software before it is integrated into a larger system?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 6

Who’s Responsible? (4)Suppose Amalgamated, Inc. requires you to use a given process model when it contracts with you to build a system. After the software is delivered and installed, your system experiences a catastrophic failure.

When Amalgamated investigates, you are accused of not having done code reviews that would have found the source of the problem before delivery. You respond that code reviews were not in the required process.

What are the legal and ethical issues involved in this dispute?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 7

Who’s Responsible? (5)

If one person has written a component but others have revised it, who is responsible if the component fails?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 8

Who’s Responsible? (6)(Testing)

If an independent test team does integration testing and a critical fault remains in the code after testing is complete, who is legally and ethically responsible for the damage caused by the fault?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 9

Who’s Responsible? (7)(Testing)

A safety-critical system fails and several lives are lost. When the cause of the failure is investigated, the inquiry commission discovers that the test plan neglected to consider the case that caused the system failure.

Who is responsible?

• The testers for not noticing the missing case?

• The test planners for not writing a complete test plan?

• The managers for not having checked the test plan?

• The customer for not having done a thorough acceptance test?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 10

Who’s Responsible? (8)(Maintenance)

Suppose you are maintaining a large, safety-critical system. You use a model to predict which components are most likely to fail. Then you examine those identified components carefully and perform perfective and preventive maintenance on each one.

Soon after, the system undergoes a catastrophic failure. The source of the failure turns out to be a component that was not identified by your model.

Are you at fault for neglecting to look at the other components?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 11

The Impossible Requirement

Sometimes a customer requests a requirement that you know is impossible to implement. Should you agree to put the requirement in the requirements specification document anyway, thinking that you might come up with a novel way of meeting it, or thinking that you will ask that the requirement be dropped later?

What are the ethical implications of promising what you know you cannot deliver?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 12

The Impossible Test

If a system’s ultrahigh reliability requirement means that the reliability can never be verified, should the system be used anyway?

[Pfleeger]

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 13

Is It Mine? (Version 1)

While developing software for a work project, you get an idea for a product of your own. Although your product will not directly compete with the work product, it deals with the same domain. You decide to develop your product on your own time, but on your computer at work.

Legal issues aside, who should own your product? You? The company? The customer?

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 14

Is It Mine? (Version 2)

While developing software for a work project, you get an idea for a product of your own. Although your product will not directly compete with the work product, it deals with the same domain. You decide to develop your product on your own time on your computer at home.

Legal issues aside, who should own your product? You? The company? The customer?

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 15

The Layoff

You and several co-workers are laid off from XYZ Corporation where you were working on developing a proprietary software product. As you are programmers, you have access to the corporate software repository.

What procedures should the company follow when you are told that you are being laid off?

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 16

Should I Fink? (1)

A project teammate misleads her (and your) boss as to the status of the module she is working on. Are you responsible for this person’s unethical behavior? If so, what do you do?

What if the person is a superior?

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 17

Should I Fink? (2)

What do you do if one of your teammates is clearly incompetent and the project manager doesn’t know it?

CMSC 345, Fall 2002 18

Is It Deception?

What types of project information would be morally permissible to keep from your client?

What types of project information would be unethical to keep from your client?

Are there any types of information that are “fuzzy?”