Ethics for the IT Professional, Software Contracts and Liability - Report Example

thiсs for the IТ рrоfеssiоnаl , Sоftwаrе соntrасts аnd liаbility Name: Institution Date: Еthiсs for the IТ рrоfеssiоnаl , Sоftwаrе соntrасts аnd liаbility Introduction and definition The code of ethics for any professional lays down various standards of confidentiality, integrity, and professionalism. Therefore, all members of any professionalism are expected to abide by the professional code. They are also expected to have high respect for their work as is described in the professional ethical conference. All the candidates have the obligation of adhering to these codes. It is pertinent to note that all professionals have the right to set up dispute committees or disciplinarians. They have the obligation of imposing penalties for any person who breaches the rules of their professionalism (Gorman, 2010). Ethics for IT Professional Information technology practitioners are committed to doing whatever is honorable and right. They should come up with high professional standards, as these standards should be met within all aspects of their lives. It does not matter whether they are at their place of residence, work, or even while in service of their information technology profession. The code of ethics and professionalism is crucial since it describes various expectations by professionals and their colleges. It assists in the articulation of ideas which IT specialists aspire as well as the behaviors they have in their professionalism. The key purpose of this code of ethics for IT professionals is instilling confidence in the IT profession. It is also to assist different IT specialists become admirable practitioners. The IT pro9fession has a high conviction that the reputation and the credibility of IT profession are shaped by the combined conduct and behavior of all IT individual practitioners. Through the utilization of ethics for the IT professional, this is a profession that can be advanced both at the individual level and collectively. These ethics are also significant since they assist in making of wise decisions especially during those times that the profession is faced with adverse situations. In addition, it is through this code of ethics that it is possible for the IT professionals to build and evolve their professions. IT profession ethics structure Ethics for IT profession is divided into several sections, which consist of, standards of conduct. They are aligned into four values that are identified as most important to the information technology community. Some of these sections consist of comments, but this is not the most noteworthy component of the ethics. It only provides various examples and clarifications. These examples are meant to show how IT professionals are supposed to conduct themselves whether within or without the places of work. These comments are also meant to guard them, and provide a guideline with which to follow whatever they are thought to do. They are also meant to indicate the time they are supposed to follow certain procedures. Therefore, all IT professionals are obliged to beware of these ethical comments so as to avoid going against them at all costs (Quigley, 2009). Various professionals from the information technology profession have been able to identify certain values that formed the basis of their decision. They are also able to identify ways in which they have been guided by their actions. The teams of IT professionals were able to identify some of the most significant ethical values as respect, having a sense of responsibility, honesty, and equality. These are the principles that have been affirmed by the IT professionals as the source of their strong foundations. Mandatory and aspiration IT ethics There is a section of aspiration and mandatory standards in each section of IT profession code of ethics. The aspiration conducts describe the conduct that professionals uphold. However, the measurements to these aspiration standards are not easy. Therefore, all IT professionals have the obligation of conducting themselves as professionals according to these standards (Srikantaiah, 2010)). On the other hand, mandatory standards are responsible for establishing various IT firms’ requirements. In other cases, they also prohibit or limit practitioners from some of their behavior. Those practitioners who do not conduct themselves in accordance with these ethics are subject to disciplinary measures. Responsibility A sense of responsibility is one of the IT professions ethics whereby all the professionals have a responsibility to make their own decisions. The actions that they take are as a result of the consequences of the responsibilities that they assume. Most of the decisions are made out of the best interest of the society, the environment, and also the public safety. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all IT professionals to make those decisions that show consistency with their skills, experience, and qualifications (Reynolds, 2012). Whenever an error or an omission is made, it is the responsibility of the IT specialist to correct that error so that it may not lead to enormous problems in the future. This could be done in such a way that in cases when there is a problem is detected whether the detector is the one who caused the error or omission or it was caused by another person, it is communicated to the appropriate individuals as soon as possible. IT professionals have the ethical responsibility of ensuring that they accept accountability for any issues resulting from any errors. This is one of the key issues that have made the information technology profession grow in such a significant rate. Respect each IT professional has to show a significant regard to themselves and to additional individuals. This is most in cases where there are valuable resources that have been entrusted to them. These include money, the safety of other people, people and their reputations, environmental or natural resources (Schultz, 2011). Conclusion In conclusion, most of the information technology organizations in the entire globe have adapted various professional ethics. These are meant to provide rules and guidelines to all IT professionals regardless of where the company is based. Just as, it has been discussed within the literature review, there has to be certain principles, which are outlined, in the ethics code for professionals to follow. This includes but not limited to responsibility, respect, humility, and honesty. References Gorman, M. (2010). The enduring library: technology, tradition, and the quest for balance. Chicago: American Library Association. Quigley, M. (2009). Information security and ethics social and organizational issues. Hershey PA: IRM Press. Reynolds, G. W. (2012). Ethics in information technology. Boston, Mass.: Course Technology. Schultz, R. A. (2011). Contemporary issues in ethics and information technology. Hershey, PA: IRM Press. Srikantaiah, T., & Koenig, M. E. (2010). Knowledge management for the information professional. Medford, N.J.: Published for the American Society for Information Science by Information Today. Software contracts and liability Software development processes are mostly controlled by contractual agreement that are of different types. The contractual agreement is aimed at protecting the interests of all the parties involved. The parties involved are considered as legal entities and have the capacity to act as well as create obligations in the agreement. Some of the common contracts in IT include consultancy contracts, outsourcing, fixed price contracts, as well as time variable contracts. The contents of a contract are mostly divided into three pertinent sections, which include the party’s description, terms, and conditions, and the schedule and annexes section. In information technology, contractual agreement must explicitly state the will change hands and at what point of the project. Some of the common deliverables in such contractual agreement include the source code, command files, reference manuals, test data, as well as maintenance tools (Fitzgerald, 2000). Issues in contractual agreements Over the years, a debate has raged over the responsibilities of software development companies. The liability software companies should face in case of a software failure. The definition and limits of negligence in software development has also been an issue. It is pertinent to note that software engineering projects are complex and their uniqueness makes it hard for standard agreements. Moreover, the definition of the ethical responsibilities of a software engineer should be incorporated in software liability law. The controversy on whether the software is a tangible product influences its admissibility under the liability law. Moreover, the classification of computer programs as goods or services determines the liability law to be applied. In software development, there are many individual involved which include the software designer, the programmer, and consultant identifying the liability attached to each of the parties is complex. Another key question raised in software liability law is the responsibility of open source developers. The motive of a software supplier when inserting clauses in a contractual agreement are limits their liability in the occurrence of the system failure. Ownership of rights In information technology, the ownership of rights depends on a number of things. Unlike in hardware devices where the tangibility of the items is not debatable in software transfer of legal rights is variable. Contracts in information technology are pertinent in indicating whether the lights shift from developer to client. In software development, confidential information is shared between the supplier and client. There is a need to establish a clause in the contract the ensure non-disclosure of information pertaining the project to third parties. Payment terms are determined by different variables in a contract. The use of standard terms to set the conditions for payment is common in information technology contracts. Phased payment plans are applicable in long-running projects. A phased payment plan reduces the risks the supplier is exposed to during the implementation process. Moreover, the liquidity levels of the supplier are enhanced. On the other hand, the client receives different rights ownership as the project progresses (Bainbridge, 2007). The contractual agreement should clearly state the implications of a delayed project. The use of penalty clause in the occurrence of a delay at any stage of the project implementation is common. According to Fitzgerald, (2000) the penalty clauses motivate the supplier to ensure that the project deliverables are delivered before the deadline. The obligations of the client in information technology projects are multiple and have a significant implication to the overall success of the project. The client is expected to provide adequate documentation necessary for system testing. Moreover, the accessibility of personnel and facilities within the organization should be enhanced. During project implementation, the contract should outline all the obligations of the client. Moreover, the frequency of progress reports and meetings should be agreed upon before the commencement of the project (Girot, 2001). Warranty and maintenance The contractual agreement should explicitly state the warranty period of the program developed. Within the warranty period, bugs identified are rectified free of charge. However, after the warranty period expires repairs done thereafter should be paid for as maintenance. The common practice is stating the warranty period in the clauses. For long-term projects, there are multiple clauses included to guard the parties against issues such as inflation and regulations changes. Vendor liability The supplier of software should correct an identified bug in their program. The conditions for getting revised software or an update for a previous version should be outlined in the license. According to the tort theories of liability, the existence of liability of declaimers does not set free a supplier in case of injury. Fitzgerald, (2000) elaborates that some of the elements and principles that are reviewed in case of an injury include misrepresentation, negligence, strict liability, as well as professional malpractice. These tort theories can be used to implicate a supplier and shift the liability to them if any of the theories is justified. As mentioned before, the use of provisions in the contract provisions are multidimensional. They can be used to minimize risk of the client. These include warranty disclaimers, limitation of remedies, integration clauses, as well as liability limitation (Levy, 2009). Conclusion In conclusion, it is crucial to note that for any software development to go through, the contractual agreements should be appropriately understood by all the parties involved. In addition, all the involved parties have their own individual rights, which should be understood and respected. There are various software contracts which are all part of information technology. The issues that have to do with a contractual agreement should also be implicit as well as the warranty and maintenance. References Bainbridge, D. I. (2007). Introduction to information technology law (6th ed.). Harlow: Longman. Fitzgerald, A. 2000. Going digital 2000: legal issues for e-commerce, software, and the internet (2nd ed.). St. Leonards, NSW: Prospect Media. Girot, C. (2001). User protection in IT contracts: a comparative study of the protection of the user against defective performance in information technology. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. Levy, L. 2009. Software Product Liability. Law Berkeley. University of California Retrieved January 21, 2013, from www.law.berkeley.edu/journals/btlj/articles/vol5/Levy.pdf Read More