Analyzing Ethical Challenges in Software Development: A Case Study

This case study examines an ethical dilemma within a software development company. A senior developer bypasses the project manager to directly communicate with a client and promises software changes without proper consultation. The analysis identifies the key ethical issues, including breaches of communication protocol and authority, and the impact on stakeholders such as the project manager, the client, the junior developer, and the company itself. The study applies deontological ethics to assess the actions, highlighting the importance of ethical conduct and adherence to established communication channels. Several options for addressing the situation are evaluated, with the recommendation that the project manager instruct the developer to forward client communications, emphasizing the project manager's role in negotiation and budget management. The conclusion reinforces the necessity of ethical practices and structured communication in software development to maintain discipline and protect the company's reputation.

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Doing Ethics 1
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Doing Ethics Technique...............................................................................................................................2
What is going on?....................................................................................................................................2
What are the facts?.................................................................................................................................2
What are the Issues?...............................................................................................................................2
Who is affected?......................................................................................................................................2
What are the Ethical Issues and Implications?........................................................................................3
What can be done about it?....................................................................................................................3
What options are there?.........................................................................................................................3
Which option is best and why?................................................................................................................4
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................4
References...................................................................................................................................................5

Doing Ethics 2
Introduction
In the present paper, doing ethics can be used to analyze the ethical issue raised in the video of
development methodology. The doing ethics procedure is used to analyze the ethical issue, in the
IT operations of a business organization. In the later part of the analysis, recommendations are
provided to solve the ethical issue.
Doing Ethics Technique
What is going on?
As per the case, the senior developer receives a phone call from the client and promises him to
make changes in the software according to his requirements. The senior developer ensures the
client to complete the task without consulting with the project manager.
What are the facts?
When the project manager arrives at the workplace, he listens that the senior developer has
received a call from the client and listens to his recommendations to change the software. The
senior developer agrees to ask the junior software developer to make changes in the software.
However, the project manager is not happy with the conversation as he is thinking that he should
remain in between to negotiate with the customer (Hooker, 2012).
What are the Issues?
There are several ethical issues in the ongoing conversation between the senior developer and the
project manager. Firstly, the senior developer disrupted the communication process and directly
communicated with the client. Moreover, he also assured the client that he will complete the
software development process and fulfill additional requirements. He breached the
communication process and overrode the assigned authority.
Who is affected?
There are several stakeholders of this decision. It includes the project manager, client, Software
Development Company and junior developer.
Junior Developer: The senior developer assures the client that his requirements will be addressed
and the software will be modified as per his expectations. However, he did not negotiate the
pricing requirements and the additional efforts required for making changes. It can be critiqued
that the junior developer has to make the relevant changes in a limited time which will increase
the work pressure on him (Yeslam Al-Saggaf, 2018). He has to make the amendments, even
when he did not commit any mistake.
The client: The senior developer has given his consent to fulfill his requirements within the
specific time frame. The company is expecting that the work will be delivered within the specific

Doing Ethics 3
time frame. However, if the company fails to deliver the work due to cost or time constraints, it
will disappoint the client and establish a bad reputation for the organization.
Project Manager
It is the responsibility of the project manager to assure that the project will be completed on time.
However, random changes at the eleventh hour can jeopardize the deadline and the efficiency of
the project manager. If these changes are done in an urgent manner, it can create issues in the
final project delivery.
The Software Development Company
The current step of senior developer can compromise the reputation of the company. If the
company fails to deliver the project within the stipulated deadline, it can negatively affect the
reputation of the organization.
What are the Ethical Issues and Implications?
It is important to assure that all the employees follow ethical conduct in an organization. It is also
important that the organization follow ethical conduct and assure to deliver tasks within deadline
and with quality. The deontological ethics state that it is necessary to follow all ethical conduct
in every situation. All the actions should be just and ethical. The morality and the ethics of an
action should be judged according to the morality of the ethics. According to this theory, the
actions taken by the developer is wrong (Lewis, 2015). The developer should not communicate
with the client directly for making the changes in the software. There should be specific protocol
through which the client can communicate with the organization. It maintains discipline and
integrity within the organization.
What can be done about it?
It has been established that the software developer is at wrong as he has directly communicated
with the client. According to the job responsibilities and the duties, project manager has the
responsibility to deal with the requirements of the clients. However, it is important to notify the
developer his mistake so that such instance does not occur in future. He does not have the
authority and experience to determine whether the work can be completed within the stipulated
time frame (Singer, 2013). It is important that the developer and the project manager consult
with each other before giving deadlines to the customers.
What options are there?
In the current situation, there are several options, which can be used by the project manager to
amend the situation:
The project manager can request the developer to forward phone calls and emails from the client
to the project manager. He should be made to understand that such phone calls should go through
the project manager. It is necessary to ensure that there is no overrunning of budget or time.

Doing Ethics 4
The project manager can also bully the developer and shout at him for his mistake.
There is also possibility that the project developer do not say anything to the developer; however,
it will create more blunders for the organization (Driver, 2013). It is possible that the software
will not be developed according to the stipulated deadline.
Which option is best and why?
In the ethical analysis, several optional actions have been identified and the project manager has
to choose the most ethical action so that the organization can work in an appropriate manner. The
best option for the project manager is to tell the developer to forward such calls to him. He
should communicate with him and tell him the importance of forwarding these calls to him. His
work is to better negotiate the work schedule and cost.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the project manager has to advice the developer to transfer all the calls
from the client to him. This decision is evaluated from the deontological ethics theory.

Doing Ethics 5
References
Driver, J. (2013). Ethics: The Fundamentals. John Wiley & Sons.
Hooker, B. (2012). Developing Deontology: New Essays in Ethical Theory. John Wiley & Sons.
Lewis, V. (2015). Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues: Fourth Edition. W.
W. Norton & Company.
Singer, P. (2013). A Companion to Ethics. John Wiley & Sons.
Yeslam Al-Saggaf. (2018). Scenario 2: Development Methodology. Youtube. Retrieved 17
March 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0npm9cEJBWY