Bad Software - Is there a Code of Ethics?

[Rich2001]

Software bugs, or errors, are so prevalent and so detrimental that they cost the U.S. economy an estimated $59.5 billion annually, or about 0.6% of the Gross Domestic Product, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Paper and electronic copies of NIST Planning Report 02-3, The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Infrastructure for Software Testing, with a 24-page discussion of CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM software systems, can be obtained by visiting the NIST Web site,

http://www.nist.gov

Software publishing is a business, a large, important industry in the United States. Like other businesses, software publishers make trade-offs between your satisfaction and their costs. Unfortunately, software is also mysterious to the non-expert. It's easy for a software seller or support technician to tell you that you've misused the program, or that the problem is that there's something wrong with your frammistan (a mythical device that unscrupulous car mechanics would charge customers hundreds of dollars to repair.) Some people are getting badly ripped off, and it's not doing the industry or the customers any good.

It is no wonder that the general public has such disdain for the IT profession.

Is there any code of ethics like there is in other Professional lcensed fields for IT?

 

[CajunCenturion]

Sarcasm - the comment about the Legal profession is pure sarcasm. They do have a code of ethics, are licensed, are self-policed, and can be disbarred for violating that code, and yet they are still some of the most unethical and unscrupulous examples of humanity. Its unfortunate that sarcasm is not obvious in the written word, as it is in spoken.

A code of ethics is a great PR, but in the final analysis, who is going to enforce that code.

As you stated: I think its about time that we had an official way to distinguish between script kiddies, and bona fide professional (ethical) programmers.

Two points - do not confuse professional with ethical. Two entirely different things. A script kiddie may not be professional, but can be complete ethical in his/her practices. Conversly, just because someone is a paid professional programmer does not mean they are ethical. Whereas I can accept that unethical behavior would be considered unprofessional, the two concepts are in no way interchangeable.

It would be nice to have an official way to classify member of profession, something akin to a CPA, or having a license to practice, but as of now, the only things available are college degrees and/or certificates, and there certainly is no consensus there. Just read these fora and you can see how many "IT professionals" fail to recognize the value and/or meaning of a degree and/or certificate. How many doctors, lawyers, or accountants do you know that do not have college degrees in their fields of study?

Can we honestly expect anyone outside the industry to acknowledge any competancy measure, and to consider us true professionals, when members within IT community cannot even accept the value of or need for something as basic as a college degree? If we want to be taken seriously as professionals, to be considered professionals in the same light as doctors and/or lawyers are professionals, then we neet to set standards for ourselves that are worthy of that professional claim. Just read these fora and you'll see that the very members of this industry begging for professional recognition and the same ones who resist the establishment of a high professional standard for the industry. Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein