Professional Year Program: Ethics in IT Case Study and Analysis

This case study examines an ethical dilemma faced by a programmer, Christina, working for a software development company. Christina discovers critical bugs in a software project nearing its deadline, but management insists on launching the product regardless. The analysis explores the ethical conflicts arising from this situation, particularly concerning the ACS code of ethics, including honesty, professional development, and the primacy of public interest. The study considers the potential consequences of releasing the software without proper testing, such as reputational damage, financial implications, and the violation of professional standards. The solution proposes that Christina should advocate for a project deadline extension to ensure thorough testing and ethical compliance, highlighting the importance of honesty and professionalism in IT project management.

Running head: ETHICS IN I.T.
Ethics in I.T.
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ETHICS IN I.T.
The scenario in this case study reveals that Christina is a programmer for a small
software development company which is working on a project of a client. The programmer
Cristina is one the member of the team who is responsible for launching the software in the
market. Work of Cristian currently is to test the programs that have been developed but the
programmers (McDermid 2015). While the testing process is on, Cristina finds out some of
the several bugs in the programs that can hamper the entire project. While the fixing process
is on, the management informs that the deadline has arrived and they need to take the project
live irrespective of the statues of the program.
The lead programmer Cristina is facing some of the major ethical problems while the
process of realising the software. But during the launch days, the organisation experiences
one of the major ethical issues related to the set of rules of the ACS. The dilemma that is
faced by the programmer and the team of is that whether to release the product without
completing the testing as proposed launch date has arrived. If the product is launched and
there are any of the major risks associated with the project. Then it can hamper the name and
reputation of the organisation (Valacich and Schneider 2015). There might be some of the
major problems regarding the cost and budget of the project. Also, this can hamper the
schedule of the client. There is also a need for the programmer to sign for a lie which can
hamper the moral values of the person.
Further, if the product is not launched within the deadline, then it can reduce the name
and fame of the organisation. This can also hamper the name of Cristina in front of
management. If there is any major fault in the program after the product is launched, then the
entire blame will be given to the developers and the programmers (Khomh et al. 2012). Also,
not listening to the management can hamper Christians Image in front of the management.
The ACS code of ethics states these rules in for ethics (Acs.org.au, 2018):

2ETHICS IN I.T.
1. The primacy of public interest
2. The enhancement of the quality of life
3. Honesty
In this case, if the product is not without testing the project, then it can hamper some
of the code of the ethics. The most important code that is broken is the Honesty. As the
programmer, Christina needs to sign a paper falsely claiming that the product is complete
hence thus is effecting the honesty of the person (Britton et al. 2013). Other than this the
other major code that is broken is the professional development and professionalism. Thus,
must be ensured that any code of ethics is now broken while the project is delivered.
ACS code of Professional Conduct (Acs.org.au, 2018):
1. The Primacy of the Public Interest
2. The Enhancement of Quality of Life
3. Honesty
4. Competence
5. Professional Development
6. Professionalism
To ensure that the product is launched inn a successful manner and without any of the
laws of the ACS broken, the programmer must to sign and launched the project to meet the
deadline of the project. The first thing that must be done by Christina is to approach the

3ETHICS IN I.T.
project manager and as for increasing the deadline of the project (Al-Saggaf, Burmeister and
Weckert 2015). This will ensure that the project is completed and all the testing is done.
When the testing is properly done, then only the project must be launched. This ensures that
all the laws of the code of ethics are covered, as well as a code of professional ethics is
covered (Burmeister 2017). This ensures that the honesty of the team and the programmer is
completely met. If the product is launched with an increased deadline, then it might hamper
the law of the professionalism, as the organisation is not able to complete the task with in the
given deadline. But makes sure that all the other major codes of ethics are not broken and are
maintained. This makes sure that the trust is not broken in between the client and the
stakeholders are not broken. Further, this will ensure that the profession development is
maintained in between the client and organisation.
Thus concluding it can be said that in any professing honesty and professionalism is
one of the major things that is to be implemented. A breach in trust can hamper the name of
the organisation and thus can affect the working of the same. In this case, it can be said that
the situation that is faced by the programmer Cristina, is a major dilemma and needs to be
solved very carefully. If the management in not made to understand the current situation, then
it can hamper the working of the organization. Thus, in this case, it has to be made sure that
the project is not launched in the deadline with bugs. Instead, extra time must be taken and
resolving the bugs the project must be launched as soon as possible.

4ETHICS IN I.T.
References:
Acs.org.au. (2018). ACS - The Professional Association for Australia's ICT sector. [online]
Available at: https://www.acs.org.au/ [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].
Al-Saggaf, Y., Burmeister, O. and Weckert, J., 2015. Reasons behind unethical behaviour in
the Australian ICT workplace: An empirical investigation. Journal of Information,
Communication and Ethics in Society, 13(3/4), pp.235-255.
Britton, T., Jeng, L., Carver, G., Cheak, P. and Katzenellenbogen, T., 2013. Reversible
debugging software. Judge Bus. School, Univ. Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Tech. Rep.
Burmeister, O.K., 2017. Professional ethics in the information age. Journal of Information,
Communication and Ethics in Society, 15(4), pp.348-356.
McDermid, D., 2015. Ethics in ICT: an Australian perspective. Pearson Higher Education
AU.
Valacich, J. and Schneider, C., 2015. Information Systems Today: Managing in a Digital
World Plus MyMISLab with Pearson eText--Access Card Package. Prentice Hall Press.
Khomh, F., Adams, B., Dhaliwal, T. and Zou, Y., 2015. Understanding the impact of rapid
releases on software quality. Empirical Software Engineering, 20(2), pp.336-373.