GROUP 11(PART ONE)

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS

Engineering is a reputable and well respected field of study, for this reason, engineers must hold
themselves to the highest standard of ethical conduct and professionalism in the course of their careers
by upholding virtues like integrity and honesty.

FUNDAMENTAL CANONS

1) Ensure health safety and welfare of the public

2) Promote honesty in practice, dealings and statements
3) Ensure honorable behavior, reputable conduct and faithful service to clients
4) Provide service only in areas of expertise

RULES OF PRACTISE

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE

1) Clients and employers must be notified of possible danger to life and property as new
information or circumstances arise
2) Engineers must only approve documentation that are to the applicable standard
3) Engineers must not divulge information without authorization from their clients or employers
except as required by the law
4) Engineers must not allow their name to be used for fraudulent activities by dishonest persons or
companies
5) Engineers must not aid or abet in any unlawful engineering practices committed by others
6) Engineers must report any alleged violation of this code to the appropriate bodies and provide
information and support in any subsequent investigations

HONESTY IN PRACTICE, DEALINGS AND STATEMENTS

1) Engineers must provide truthful and accurate reports, statements and documentation.
2) Engineers should only express factual and technical information in subjects they have the
requisite expertise
3) Engineers must not give statements or criticism on technical issues under the influence of others
for their personal or corporate interests without stating their interests in the
4) Engineer must not present falsified qualification of their qualification or allow misinterpretation
of associates qualifications and facts concerning their employment or past accomplishments.
5) Engineers must not directly or indirectly influence the awarding of public contracts

HONORABLE BEHAVIOR, REPUTABLE CONDUCT AND FAITHFUL SERVICE

1) Engineers must state all conflict of interest and or potential conflicts that can influence their
judgement.
2) Engineers must not accept financial payments or compensation from more than one party on a
project.
3) Engineers must not accept financial consideration in connection with work for which they hold
responsibility
4) Engineers that are working for the government or with government agencies must not
participate in decisions with respect to services provided by them or the organization in private
or public engineering practice.
5) Engineers should not accept a contract from a governmental body on which an officer of the
organization serves as a member.

SERVICE ONLY IN FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

1) Engineers must only undertake tasks and assignments that they have appropriate
qualification
2) Engineers must not accent their signature to documents for which they do not have the
required expertise or did not give direction on.
3) Engineers can accept assignments and assume responsibility for coordination of an entire
project and sign and seal the engineering documentation for the entire project provided
each segment is signed by the appropriate personnel.

PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATION
1) Engineers must let their various and actions be guided by honesty and integrity
a) Engineers must accept their mistakes and not alter facts
b) Engineers must inform their clients if they suspect the project will be unsuccessful
c) Engineers must not accept jobs that will interfere with their regular work without informing
their clients
d) Engineers must not attract other engineers from their employers by dubious or deceitful
means.
e) Engineers must not promote their own interests to the detriment of their integrity
2) Engineers must aim to serve the general public
a) Engineers must engage in civil affairs and work with the safety and welfare of the
community in mind
b) Engineers must not sign any documentation that is not to standards
c) Engineers must endeavor to promote public knowledge about engineering and its benefits
3) Engineers must endeavor to avoid deceptive actions and conduct against the public
a) Engineers must avoid the use statements that provide deceitful accounts of material facts
b) Engineers may advertise for recruitment of personnel
c) Engineers may publish papers but they should not imply credit for the author for the work
done by others
4) Engineers must not disclose information with authorization from their clients of employers
a) Engineers must not arrange for new employment without informing persons and parties
involved.
b) Engineers must not support or participate in projects offered by adversarial companies
without informing or consulting their clients
5) Engineers must not allow their personal interests to influence the performance of their duties
a) Engineers must not accept material or financial considerations from suppliers for specifying
their products
 b) Engineers must not accept commissions directly or indirectly from other parties in connection
with clients or employers for work they are responsible for.
6) Engineers must not try to gain employment or promotion by criticizing other engineers or by
other questionable ways
a) Engineers should not take or request commissions on a contingent basis in situations where
their judgements may be compromised
b) Engineers in salaried positions may take part time work only in accordance with the employers
knowledge and ethical considerations
c) Engineers should not use facilities and equipment from an employer for person reasons without
their consent
7) Engineers must not intend to destroy the reputation or employment of other engineers directly
or indirectly
a) Engineers practicing privately must not review the work of other engineers for the same project
without the permission of the engineer or after termination of work
b) Engineers in governmental, industrial or educational institutions are allowed to review and
evaluate the work of others as part of their duties
8) Engineers must take personal responsibility for their professional actions and activities
a) Engineers must conform to state registration laws in the practice of engineering
b) Engineers must not use association or partnership with people who are not in the engineering
field as a reason for unethical conduct
9) Engineers should give credit to all those who deserve it.
a) Engineers must give credit or name persons or personalities that responsible for designs and
inventions.
b) Engineers must not duplicate designs made for clients without their consent
c) Engineers must seek consent from their employer or client to use engineering data or designs
for purposes different from their intended purpose

ACM/IEEE-CS JOINT TASK FORCE ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES :

Computers basically control the things that we do in our day to day lives in areas like commerce,
education, medicine, entertainment, industry, government and the society at large. medicine,
education, entertainment’ and society at large. Software engineers contribute participating or by
teaching the analysis, specification, design, development, certification, maintenance and testing of
software systems. Because they develop software systems, software engineers have significant
opportunities to do good or cause harm, to enable others to do good or cause harm, or to influence
others to do good or cause harm. To ensure, as much as possible, that their efforts will be used for good.

Software engineers must therefore adhere to certain code of ethics and professional practice.

The Code contains eight Principles related to the behavior of and decisions made by professional
software engineers;

1. PUBLIC
Software engineers should act consistently with the public interest. Particularly software engineers
should:

i. Accept full responsibility for their own work.

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

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

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

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

vii. Consider issues of physical disabilities, allocation of resources, economic

2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER.

Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer. In
particular, software engineers should:

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

ii. Not knowingly use software that is obtained or retained either illegally or unethically.

iii. Use the property of a client or employer only in ways properly authorized, and with the
client’s or employer’s knowledge and consent.

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

v. Keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work, where such
confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistent with the law.
 3. PRODUCT

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

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

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

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

IV. 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.

4. JUDGEMENT

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

I. Temper all technical judgments by the need to support and maintain human values.

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

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

IV. Not engage in deceptive financial practices such as bribery, double billing other
improper financial practices.

5. MANAGEMENT

Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the
management of software development and maintenance. In particular, those managing or leading
software engineers should:

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

II. Ensure that software engineers are informed of standards before being held to them.

III. 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.
6. PROFESSION

Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession

consistent with the public interest. In particular, software engineers should:

i. Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically.

ii. Promote public knowledge of software engineering.

iii. Extend software engineering knowledge by appropriate participation in professional

organizations, meetings and publications.

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

7. COLLEAGUES

i. Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.

ii. Assist colleagues in professional development.

iii. Credit fully the work of others and refrain from taking undue credit.

iv. Review the work of others in an objective, candid, and properly documented way.

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

8. SELF

I. Further their knowledge of developments in the analysis, specification, design, development,

maintenance and testing of software and related documents, together with the management of
the development process.

II. Improve their ability to create safe, reliable, and useful quality software at a reasonable cost and
within a reasonable time.

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

IV. Improve their understanding of the software and related documents on which they work and of
the environment in which they will be used.

THE ASME CRITERIA FOR INTERPRETATION OF THE CANONS

The ASME criteria for interpretation of the canons are guidelines and represent the objectives
toward which members of the engineering profession should strive. They are principles an engineer
can reference in specific situations.
 1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance
of their professional duties.
a. Engineers should recognize that the lives, health and safety of the public is dependent
on their judgements and decisions.
b. Engineers shall not approve plans that are not safe to the public.
c. Engineers shall report anyone or firm in violation of any of the provisions of these
canons.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence.
a. Engineers shall undertake to perform engineering assignments only when qualified by
education or experience in that field.
b. Engineers may accept an assignment which requires education outside their own field but
their services should be restricted to where they are qualified while other phases of such
project shall be performed by qualified people.
3. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers, and should
provide opportunities for the professional and ethical development of those engineers under
their supervision.
4. Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer as faithful agents or trustees, and
shall avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflict of interest.
5. Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not
compete unfairly with others.

6. Engineers shall associate only with reputable persons or organizations.

a. Engineers shall not associate their names or firm names to any other person or firm which
they know engage in fraudulent practices.
b. Engineers shall not use association with non-engineers or corporations to disguise unethical
acts.
7. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
a. Engineers shall endeavor to extend public knowledge and to prevent misunderstandings on
the achievements of engineering.
b. Engineers shall be truthful in explaining their work and merit and shall avoid any act of
attempting to promote their own interest.
8. Engineers shall consider environmental impact in the performance of their professional duties.

Engineers accepting membership in The American Society of Mechanical Engineers by this action agree
to abide by this Society Policy on Ethics and procedures for its implementation.

GROUP MEMBERS

1. BRIAN NII NORTEY-FIO SOWAH

2. RUEL AHUMAH TEYE
3. YAKUBU IDDI
4. YEBOAH GIDEON AGYAKWA
5. SHAHADU ABDUL QUDUSU