BCS

Professionalism – BCS Codes

Manfred Kerber

[email protected]
http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~mmk

School of Computer Science
University of Birmingham

Birmingham B15 2TT, England

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Overview

• The British Computer Society (BCS)
• BCS Code of Conduct
• BCS Code of Good Practice
• Summary

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The BCS

• The British Computer Society (BCS) is the
British national body for IT professionals. Con-
sider to become a member.

• Info on: http://www.bcs.org

• They offer information on professionalism: inter-
views at http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=
ConWebDoc.11961

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Other Professional Bodies

• The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
http://www.theiet.org
‘‘Rules of Conduct’’: http://www.theiet.org/about/
governance/rules-conduct/index.cfm

• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
(CPSR) http://cpsr.org

• Association for Computing Machinery (acm) http://
www.acm.org with “Code of Ethics” at:
http://www.acm.org/about/code-of-ethics.

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Overview

• The British Computer Society (BCS)
• BCS Code of Conduct
• BCS Code of Good Practice
• Summary

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BCS Code of Conduct

Public Interest
1. Regard for the public health, safety, en-

vironment.
2. Regard legitimate rights of third parties.
3. Have knowledge of, comply with relevant

legislation, regulations, standards
4. No discrimination
5. No active or passive bribery

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BCS Code of Conduct (Cont’d)

Duty to Relevant Authority
6. Apply due care and diligence. If over-

ruled, indicate likely risks
7. Avoid conflicts of interest
8. Do not disclose confidential information

(exceptions)
9. Do not withhold information on the per-

formance of products ...

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BCS Code of Conduct (Cont’d)

Duty to the Profession
10. Uphold the reputation of the BCS
11. Act with integrity
12. Consider possible consequences of state-

ments on others, make public statements
only if properly qualified
13. Notify BCS if convicted of a crime, be-
coming bankrupt

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BCS Code of Conduct (Cont’d)

Professional Competence and Integrity
14. Upgrade your professional knowl./skill
15. Do not claim competence that you do

not possess. Work only within your pro-
fessional competence
16. Observe relevant clauses from the BCS
Code of Good Practice & other standards
17. Accept professional responsibility

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Overview

• The British Computer Society (BCS)
• BCS Code of Conduct
• BCS Code of Good Practice
• Summary

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BCS Code of Good Practice 11

Practices Common to all Disciplines
• Maintain your competence
• Follow regulations
• Act professionally
• Use appropriate methods/tools
• Manage workload efficiently
• Participate Maturely
• Show respect
• Promote good practice
• Represent the profession to the public

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BCS Code of Good Practice

Key IT Practices 12
• Programme/Project Management
• Relationship Management
• Security
• Safety Engineering
• Change Management
• Quality Management

Practices Specific to Education, Research

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BCS Code of Good Practice

Business Functions
• Requirements Analysis & Specification
• Software Development
• System Installation
• Training
• System Operations
• Support and Maintenance

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Overview

• The British Computer Society (BCS)
• BCS Code of Conduct
• BCS Code of Good Practice
• Summary

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Summary

• Read the Codes of Conduct and Good
Practice in full at

http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6030
http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6031

• If in doubt, ask a colleague for advice
• Consider becoming a member of a pro-

fessional organisation
• Act responsibly to society, clients, com-

pany, and yourself

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