7.1 Ethics and ownership

“Explain the reasons why it is important for a manager of a team of software developers act ethically in relation to her team members”

• To make sure the team members feel valued

• To get the best work out of the team

• To enable them to work well together

• To enable them to create the best product for their client

“Benefits of a software developer joining an ethical body”

• Ethical guidelines to follow:

  • Clients and other staff know the standards being applied

  • Does not have to decide what is ethical (its written down)

• Clients and staff know he is reputable:

  • Recognition of skills/knowledge

  • May be a test/requirements for entry

• They provide help and support:

  • If he needs legal advice

• They run training courses

  • To keep his skills up-to-date

“Describe ways a program developer can act ethically when he is unfamiliar with the IDE required to use”

• Tell the manager he has not used it

  • And how he will get up to date

• He can perform his own research on how to use it

• Explain to the manager that he needs additional training

  • And ask the manager to book a training course

• He can ask for a mentor to shadow someone

• He can practice at home before starting

“Explain the reasons why a program developer acted unethically when they found an error in the part of a program that has already been tested and didn’t report it as he was afraid of the consequences"

• He didn’t act in the best interest of a product

• Because the product might fail because he didn’t report the error

• He didn’t act in the best interest of the client

  • Because if the product does not work then they have been let down because he did not report the error

• He did not act in the best interest of the profession

  • He is letting his profession down because he did not report this error

• He didn’t act in the best interest of the company

  • Not correcting the error early could lead to later problems

“Explain why it is important for a programmer to join an ethical body”

• The programmer has ethical guidelines to follow

  • So purchasers know the standards being applied

  • So programmer does not have to decide whether it is ethical or not (as it is written down)

• Clients know programmer is reputable

  • Recognition of programmer’s skill/knowledge

• There may be an entry requirement/exam

  • So clients know the programmer is competent

• Professional ethical body provides help and support

  • Such as legal advice

• Enables programmer to attend the ethical body’s training courses

  • To keep skills up to date

“Explain reasons why a computer programmer needs to act ethically towards colleagues”

The programmer should:

• Treat colleagues fairly and avoid acts of discrimination

• Be prepared to accept/offer critique

  • So that technical work can be improved

• Credit the contributions of colleagues

  • So that they feel valued

• Help/train colleagues

“Explain reasons why a computer programmer needs to act ethically towards the public”

The programmer should:

• Maintain the health, safety and welfare of the public

  • So as not to endanger anyone

• Be honest/realistic in making claims about the software

  • So that the trust of the public is maintained

• Maintain the security of the public’s data

“Describe what is meant by copyright”

• The formal and legal rights to ownership // intellectual property rights

• Protects against unauthorized reproduction of work

• Provides for legal right of redress

“For which licenses can the user edit the source code”

• Freeware Software Foundation

• Open Source Initiative

“For which license does the user have to pay before being able to use the software’ 

• Commercial software

“For which licenses can the user redistribute the software”

•  Free Software Foundation

• Open Source Initiative

• Shareware

“For which license does the user always get a free trial period”

• Shareware

“Explain why some programs are distributed under an open source license”

• To allow users to customise the code

• To allow errors to be reported / identified / fixed by users

• To allow additional features to be added to the code

• To allow for collaboration

“Explain how a programmer benefits from distributing a program under a commercial license”

• Enables the program to be copyrighted

• Prevents illegal changes to the program / protects the open source

• Prevents illegal copies of the program being made

• A fee can be charged for the program

“Identify the most appropriate software license for a game that needs to be sold to the purbic + justify your choice”

Commercial:

• User has to pay for the product so the prigranner can gain an income

• Enables the program to be copyrighted

• …So the user cannot legally edit the program / programmer retains control over product

• …And can take legal action against people who attempt to illegally copy it / sell it on

Shareware license:

• Enables the program to be copyrighted

• The user cannot legally edit the program so the developer retains control over product

• Use can try the program for free and then pay for the full game which allows the programmer to gain an income

• So more people can experience it and therefore be more likely to buy it

“State two benefits to a programmer of distributing a program using a shareware license”

• Users are able to trial the program and may offer the programmer constructive feedback

• There is no initial cost

• More people might try the program because the trial is free of charge

• Allows bugs to be found and corrected on a wide range of computer

• Users that find the trial useful will buy the program so the programmer gets income

• Users who try the software may spread the word so the developer gets more custom

“Give two benefits of distributing software using a commercial software license”

• The owner/developer can earn a fee

• Comprehensive support is usually offered so problems can be easily solved

• The software is usually well tested so few bugs

“Identify one suitable type of software licence for a program to be used in business (the source code can be modified by the business, and the business pays the programmer for maintenance and security updates) + describe reasons for your choice”

• Open source Initiative

• Allows the program source to be examined

• …So that the business can adapt/modify the program to meet their needs

• Allows the programmer to earn money for the software and updates

“Explain the reasons why a programmer should copyright their program”

• To identify themselves as the owner // to gain formal recognition of ownership

• To allow for legal consequences if anyone else steals/copies it

• To restrict competition

“For which license is a fee charged, the open source code cannot be accessed. Users do not get a free trial”

• Commercial

“For which license can a user try the software before buying it. Users may not be able to access all features during the trial”

• Shareware

“For which license is software usually free of charge. Users can access the source code and alter the program to their needs”

• Open source software