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.

8.03. Improve their ability to produce accurate, informative, and well-written documentation.

We got accurate information from the lecture notes, books, online materials and other resources. Our book has shown to lectures, It experts and some of our batch-mates to correct them. Then we were able to improve our video skills and provide an accurate, informative and well-created book. In the development process we maintain book by publishing several versions in time to time according to the changed happens in the IT field.. It was very help full to our team members to improve English language and IT teaching skills.   

PRINCIPLE 7: COLLEAGUES

Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues. 

7.01. Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.

As the team we encouraged all the members to follow the code of ethics because it will be a good investment to the improvement of the professional experience of all the members. 

7.02. Assist colleagues in professional development.

We also developed the team spirit whole we are creating the project. As a team we helped each other to improve the professional qualities and skills. 

7.05. Give a fair hearing to the opinions, concerns, or complaints of a colleague.

We have accept each and every members' ideas to improve the quality and the standard of the video. There is some worth of every opinion related to the project. Not only that the suggestions, concerns and the complaints are also provide a valuable guidance to success our project.  

PRINCIPLE 6: PROFESSION

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

6.02. Promote public knowledge of software engineering.

We publish our book among the children and give a chance to download the book from the internet. We consider it as a promoting software engineering profession to the public. Anyone who is interested in IT can get a clear idea by studying the book.  The book will be able to help the students who are willing to learn basics of IT and following IT as a subject in the school. One of our main aim is to share knowledge by using the services available in the internet as everyone can access it. So it was somehow promote the software engineering profession among the public.

6.04. Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers striving to follow this Code.

This is the first time we have used the code of Ethics for software engineers. It was a great experience to use it. As a team we have encouraged all the members of the team to follow the code of ethics related to this charity project as it will be a valuable investment for everyone to improve their professional experience.  

6.06. Obey all laws governing their work, unless, in exceptional circumstances, such compliance is inconsistent with the public interest.

When we have taken some guidance from an external source we have always mentioned it in the book to avoid copyright problems. Also we have taken the guidance from a lecturer and supervisors to improve the accuracy. So we can reduce the bad effects that can be caused to the user. As a team we have worked hard to achieve the common goal of the team and we have followed our own team rules and regulations to improve the efficiency.   

6.08. Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors in software and associated documents on which they work.

This project has been done by us so we have to responsible all the errors and other problems of the project. We tested and checked all the details of the video to avoid the errors. We have got the recommendation from the lecturers, IT expert people and batch-mates before distributing the book to the public.   

PRINCIPLE 5: MANAGEMENT

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

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

As a team we have managed our time and the resources to do the project. We have set up a schedule to manage the time and the other resources such as internet connection and the human resources we have used for the project.  Our managing process consists of planning, organizing, directing, monitoring, controlling, innovating and representation.

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.

To get a good guidance to create a reliable book we have referred many notes, books online materials and other sources related to IT. So it will improve the accuracy of the video as well as it will help to improve the confidence of the users and students to follow the book.  

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.

We have got a big help through the previous experience related to the IT. We were also guided by the experienced instructor to create the book in a more accurate and reliable way. 

5.09. Ensure that there is a fair agreement concerning ownership of any software, processes, research, writing, or other intellectual property to which a software engineer has contributed.

The book we have made can be considered as an intellectual property of our team. All three members have the similar privileges of the ownership of the book as we have contributed equally for the project.  

5.12. Not punish anyone for expressing ethical concerns about a project.

As a team we always accept and listen to all members' ideas as well as the other people who advised and gave their comments about our project. All of those were helped us to improve the quality and the standard of the final outcome. We used their ideas in appropriate way to the success of our project. Everyone was welcomed to express their ideas to the team about the project. 

PRINCIPLE 4: JUDGEMENT

Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:

4.01. Temper all technical judgments by the need to support and maintain human values.
We have use technological things as well as human values to succeed our project. Although this is a technology related project we have done it for a group of people. They are the ones who are taking the advantage of the project. We got the support of the sources and support from the IT expert people to filter the most useful and suitable details and information and while testing the program. So I believe that we have maintained the human values in a proper way to guide the project to achieve the targets of the project.

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

In the real world scenarios in most cases software engineers are guided by the senior software engineers or tech leads.In our project the book that we have created were guided and supervised by the quality assurance lecturer, IT expert people and the UCSC batch mates. It took us to the standard quality final product.

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

We are proud to conduct a charity type work here that can be help to the people by using our knowledge. We met our lecturers, IT related experts and got their ideas to select the area that we should cover for children. According to those requirements we have created the book in a reliable way by referring many sources and getting instructions from a supervisor. We believe that we were able to manage the professional objectivity throughout the whole process of the project.

PRINCIPLE 3: PRODUCT

Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible. In particular, software engineers shall, as appropriate:

     

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

Our product is a source of share knowledge. That is mainly very useful for the children/students who are willing to study IT. It provides a detailed summery about the topics. So they can revise their knowledge, easy to memorize as well improve the knowledge of the related areas we have published. We have already identified that the main milestone or the most highlighted quality attribute of the project is the reliability and the accuracy of the information that we have included in the video. It directly affects the users of the video. To achieve that success and the standard we have gained ideas from a supervisor lecturer as well as from the friends of the university. And also we referred reliable sources to get the information. Our project is also a volunteer and charity based work so we have completed it free of charge and the time schedule is also acceptable. 

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

Our goal is to achieve a standard level to provide the knowledge about the IT to the students who are willing to learn about the particular area. To accomplish the above goal we have worked hard as a team by completing the identified steps of the project within the given period of time. The procedure that we followed to achieve the target is simple. We discussed with the team and the lecturer, refer the sources to get reliable information, created the book, test it, get ideas and recommendation and finally we have published it.

3.03. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to work projects.

The main target of getting a feedback during the sessions is this. We really want to know are there any ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues in the work we do and we always ready to correct ourselves as soon as possible.

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

We are students from University of Colombo School of Computing and we are Undergraduates of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science since 2013. So we think we are qualified people to such a service. We always get the responsibility of what we do.

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

To build an accurate system we have followed many reference sources. We also mentioned about these sources in the book as the users can also access those sources. Mentioning about the reference sources will improve the ethical values of the entire project too. At the same time refer some accurate and reliable sources helped us a lot to create a standard outcome too.

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

As we are computer science students we know what are the basics of IT and what are the things suitable for children who like to learn this IT subject as beginners. We also got some feed backs from IT expert people who are senior to us about the content of the book. After doing a session we definitely get a feedback from children to know whether our session is successful or not and to know what the areas that we should cover for the next session.

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

We have tested our product individually while we were creating the book. Not only that we have got the approval from the supervisor and gained the comments and ideas from the students of UCSC before publishing it.

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

We always be very careful about the accurate of the final product of our project. We have got a good guidance from the expert lecturer of the subject and we referred some documents, online materials. So we can assure the book is consisting of accurate data.

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. 

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

Knowledge sharing is a good and important part of a software engineer's professional life. So it is an essential process to improve the self-knowledge about the industrial technology. 

Because this is a charity type of program we have to provide accurate descriptions and details in the book that we have created. Before we starting our project we have got many instructions by the IT expert people to improve the accuracy of the information we have referred many related books, internet sources and we have got advises also from our lecturer.  

We also used our past experiences of creating documents and IT knowledge to achieve our target and provide our best services to the students who are willing to study IT.

The most important thing is about our project related to this principle is presenting details in a simple and understandable way to the public.

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.

Before we have publish the book to the public we got the recommendation from an authorized lecturer who is familiar with the related field. So it was a big milestone of our project that it is achieved a standard level that saying other people can follow it and use it to improve the knowledge.

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

The book that we published is highly approved to the rules and ethics of The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka.

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.

We have mentioned the source links that we got information to create our book. So any user can check weather are there any mistakes in the book. After doing IT sessions we always get a feedback from children to know are there any unclear area in the book that we gave them.

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.

When we considering that part of the code of conduct it is really important to have a high reliability of the information that we have presented in the book. We have identified that if the details are not correct in the video then it will create many harmful effects to the users, readers and students who study it. So we have taken some actions to certify the correctness of the details included in the book. 

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

This is a charity work merely done by us. So no one can interfere for the work we do illegally. But anyone can how us our mistakes, give their suggestions to improve our social service.

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.

The book that we published is highly approved to the rules and ethics of The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka. So we highly responsible for any mistake that we have done in publishing the book.

PRINCIPLE 1: PUBLIC

Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest. 

1.01. Accept full responsibility for their own work.

Software engineers must be able to accept full responsibility for their own work. For example, if a software engineer provides a software product with bugs then he or she should be able to take responsibility for it. When we consider our project, we have created a small book related to Information and Communication Technology. This book will be useful for children to learn some basic things about ICT and improve their knowledge. If this book is made with incorrect details and information that affects children who refer this book. So we had to be sure that we share accurate knowledge. We are the people who are responsible for the product that we are sharing.

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

We discussed with the lecturer who is teaching us the subject Quality Assurance and got some advises as well as new ideas. We showed the PDF version of the book to our friends and got their before publishing it.  So we highly believe that there are no mistakes available. As well as we believe that our final software related product meets the appropriate quality standards. When we consider our project and map this principle with it we obviously need to consider about the users. We have taken some steps to moderate the project according to the interests of the users. After doing our session we gave a privilege to the children who was participated for the session to give their comments about the session we have done. They gave a feed back to us by mentioning their ideas as well as their suggestions. We thanked them for their honest ideas and that feed-back will be a great courage for us to do the next sessions. We always tried to do our best to provide a standard quality product to the users. 

So we have a moral responsibility other than a professional responsibility to deliver an accurate and error free product because if there are any issues then it will be affect the readers and students.

To make the video more reliable and accurately and be able to meet the specific quality standards of the knowledge sharing video we have taken following steps.

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 quality of life, diminish privacy or harm the environment. The ultimate effect of the work should be to the public good.

When we consider this principle mapping with the project we have done, we have created our book according to press rules, ethics and quality testing. We have mentioned all the reference sources that we used to create our book because we need to disclose the procedure that we followed. So any user can refer those sources and increase their knowledge furthermore. By comparing those sourced with our product, also they can find out the quality of our final product. The main tool that we have used to create the book is "Microsoft Word"

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.

There no such harmful effect of our product to the user, the public, or the environment. We have created our book according to the all the press rules and ethics of The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka.

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

Information Technology field is always changes according to the time. So there will be updates of the book that we created. To overcome this problem, we hope to publish several versions in time to time related to the knowledge updates. If there are sudden updates in the ICT knowledge we hope to make aware children during the IT sessions we hope to handle.

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

We have created our book according to all the press rules and ethics of The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka. We mainly target small children who want to know ICT with the basics. So we have created our book with the pure idea of making small children’s IT knowledge to a considerable level. That’s why we decided to conduct IT sessions to do the best for them. If there are any mistake we have done through the book for any reason we always ready to correct them and publish a new version of the book.

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

We are giving books that we published to the children free during the sessions. We always ready to endure the cost of publishing books and we cover the cost by doing various kinds of activities using over knowledge. We really want to do this as a charity work and a social service. So we do not give any pressure on buying this book by paying money. But we give an extra chance to people who like to download this book from the internet. It will also be free for them.

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

As software engineers there is an ethical boundary that everyone should obey to use the professional skills in a volunteer way to do a service to the general public  or to conduct a charity work  that would be helpful for the some group of people. It is not an easy task because we have to struggle with the time schedules most of the time. But we have to find out a specific way to do that service by using our professional skills. In this case we use our knowledge that we gained from the university to help some group of people in the society. Although sharing a book related to IT is a simple project. I believe it will help many people who are interested in that area.

INTRODUCTION

The name of our social service is "SAVIYA". Our project’s main objective is to help children to increase their IT knowledge. To fulfill that goal we created a small book related to Information and Communication Technology. Also we did an IT session by using the information in the book that we created. We hope to continue this as a monthly session in different areas.

As our first session we selected a small institute with less amount of children in Pannipitiya area. We decided to give them the IT knowledge and introduce them the value of learning IT. We met the owner of the institute before we conduct the session and discussed with him. Under his permission we fixed a date for the session. Finally we did that session to a group of children successfully.

The intention of this blog is to discuss the ethical issues (Software engineering code of ethics and Professional Practice as recommended by the ACM/IEEE-CS joint task force on software engineering ethics and professional practices and jointly approved by the ACM and the IEEE-CS as the standard for teaching and practicing software engineering), arise during the implementation of the site and how we faced them.