Peak Bodies Adopt International Code of Ethics and Practice in Software Engineering

Australian software engineers now bound by world standard in professional practice and social responsibility

Tuesday 6 April 2004 - The Software Engineering peak bodies, the ACS (Australian Computer Society) and Engineers Australia (IEAust), have jointly adopted an internationally recognised Code of Ethics to give Australian software professionals new credentials in the global software engineering community.

The two organisations conducted an extensive joint review of the tenets of the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice before deciding it would stand as a supplement to their individual core codes of ethics.

The Code will also be adopted as the ethical standard underpinning Bachelor of Engineering degrees and the certification of professional software engineers. Its acceptance is an initiative of a board formed by the ACS and IEAust in 2000 to oversee the development and maintenance of standards in software engineering, define its competencies, accredit degree programs and to certify and register qualified practitioners.

“As a professional organisation, the ACS has always held to the highest standards in ethical ICT practice, and the acceptance of this software engineering code reinforces the social responsibility and professional practice standards expected from this crucial segment of our industry,” said ACS national president, Edward Mandla.

“It also means that Australian software engineers are bound by a code of ethics and practice widely accepted around the world."

The Code was originally developed for the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) by a task force led by Prof Donald Gotterbarn of the Software Engineering Ethics Research Institute (SEERI). Its development distilled the views of ICT ethicists, software engineers, academics and industry from around the world and has been published in eight languages.

“Software development is now a global activity and needs a global approach and acceptable global guidance. This is only achieved by input from experts around the world, practitioners as well as scholars,” said Prof Gotterbarn. “It balances generality and specificity, inspiration and prohibitions. It asserts the primacy of the public good, but also examines responsibilities to employers, supervisors, users and other software engineers.

“The Code represents a movement towards an international consensus of what software engineers believe to be their professional ethical obligations. Its endorsement by the ACS and IEAust is a vital piece in the jigsaw puzzle for the international professional software engineering community to continue to move forward.

“It will give their members more credibility in markets like China and Japan where the code has already been adopted,” he said.

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/060404.htm

ENDS

The ACS (Australian Computer Society) is the recognised professional association for those working in Information and Communications Technology, seeking to raise the standing of ICT professionals and represent their views to government, industry and the community. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the ICT sector, committed to ensuring the beneficial use of ICT for all Australians. It provides both members and non-members with opportunities for professional education, networking and certification, as well as enabling them to contribute to the development of their profession. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.

ACS - ICT Professionals Shaping our Future

Media Enquiries:

Edward Mandla, ACS National President, Tel: (02) 8257 1760, Email: edwardm@acslink.net.au

Caroline New, ACS PR Consultant, Tel: (02) 9555 1986 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@bigpond.com