www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/biztech/articles/03code.html
What does the Y2K issue say about our increasing reliance on technology? So why didn't all those computer professionals do the ethical thing and prevent or blow the whistle on the year 2000 computer problem -- a glitch that some experts warn could cause such threats to health and safety as malfunctioning medical equipment and wayward airplanes when the clock ticks over to Jan. Just how much programmers and their managers should be faulted for this problem -- which, after all, was decades in the making -- is but one question being raised about a profession that usually labors in obscurity but plays an increasingly vital role in society. Some experts say the year 2000 problem could lead to changes in the way programs are written, just as earthquakes can lead to stricter building codes. Moreover, Y2K, as the problem is known, has given new life to a debate about whether programmers should be required to obtain professional certification, similar to that required of doctors, lawyers and certain engineers. Woodbury, chairwoman of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, an 1,800-member group that deals with social consequences of computing. A CODER'S CREDO In an effort to promote professional responsibility among people who write software, two of the largest computer groups the Association for Computing Machinery and the Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers have adopted a "Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice," which has these eight principles: Public - Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest. Client and Employer - Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer, consistent with the public interest. Product - Software engineers shall insure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible. Judgment - Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment. Management - Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance. Profession - Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest. Colleagues - Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues. Self - Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession. Any pressure for change could evaporate, of course, depending on the extent of computing problems that occur after the stroke of midnight on Dec. That is when millions of computers could fail to recognize that the two-digit year date "00" means 2000 and not 1900. But if colossal disasters ensue, many experts say that the public may demand that the Government step in, perhaps by regulating programmers. Even now, well before New Year's, many computing professionals see the close of an era. Strassmann, a former chief information officer for the Defense Department and the Xerox Corporation. As Strassmann notes, the Government has already stepped in, as with the Securities and Exchange Commission's requirement, which took effect last fall, that companies file detailed reports on the costs, timetable and other implications of their repair efforts. That was the first such detailed reporting required by the Government for data processing operations. And it is one reason that Strassmann formed the Software Testing Assurance Corporation, aimed at verifying companies' year 2000 cleanup efforts. Even without Government pressure, big companies are finding that the demands of cataloguing all their software and repairing and testing it has forced them to improve their own data processing procedures. Indeed, this could be the silver lining of the year 2000 cloud. Friel, chief information officer at the Prudential Insurance Company of America. Prudential now keeps better track of what programs it owns, has eliminated unnecessary programs and has bolstered procedures for testing software, he said. For all its high-technology image, developing software remains more art than science, and a fairly unpredictable art at that. Last year, 46 percent of big corporate software development projects were either late or over budget, and 28 percent failed completely, according to a survey of 7,500 projects by the Standish Group of research advisers in Dennis, Mass. Though the practitioners may speak of themselves as professionals, computing does not have the educational requirements and licensing that many other professions do. Speed, executive director of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers. Candidates must have accredited degrees and at least 12 years' experience or unaccredited degrees and at least 16 years' experience. Like other states, Texas has long required that anyone who designs a project that is for the public sector or that affects public safety must be licensed as a professional engineer. Nowadays, Speed said, the function performed by that mechanical device would be handled by software. Leon Kappelman considers computing's year 2000 bug an ethical lapse. Elsewhere, the idea of licensing or certifying computer programmers has long been discussed but never put in place, mainly because programmers are in huge demand and many of the best do not have formal training or education. In any event, some experts say it is not clear that certification would have prevented the year 2000 problem. The problem had its genesis in the 1950's and 1960's, when using two digits instead of four to represent the year in programming could save precious and expensive computer memory. It was assumed that the programs would all be replaced by the year 2000. If anything, some computer professionals say, the millennium bug is a testament to how well programmers did their jobs, not how poorly. A few programmers who say they did sound the alarm way back contend that they were ignored by corporate management. Younger programmers see the problem as one caused by their predecessors, bearing no reflection on them. Donald Gotterbarn, director at the Software Engineering Ethics Institute at East Tennessee State University, said the year 2000 problem resulted from "lack of foresight and bad guesses," not from ethical lapses. Where he sees mere mistakes, though, other experts say the problem was a design flaw that could, and should, have been prevented -- especially since the two-digit practice continued into the 1990's, long after computer memory had become cheap and plentiful. Kappelman, an associate professor of business computer information systems at the University of North Texas and co-chairman of the Society for Information Management's Year 2000 working group. And most programmers probably are not even aware it exists. Woodbury of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility put it: "Although computer science departments are supposed to teach ethics along with programming, it's extremely unpopular. The Association for Computing Machinery, in league with the 100,000-member Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, adopted a new software engineering ethics code late last year. The code calls for programmers to act in the public interest and to "promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession," among other measures. The year 2000 problem has placed new scrutiny on chief information officers. Just who is responsible for the year 2000 glitch could become a legal as well as an ethical question if, as expected, computer problems lead to widespread lawsuits. A wide swath of corporate America, including the computer industry, is backing legislation in Congress that would limit such lawsuits and liability. Last week the Senate at least temporarily shelved the bill, which had become entangled by a number of other, partisan disputes. But the bill itself has many critics, who see it as an industry attempt to escape responsibility for poor product design. Within corporations, the year 2000 problem has placed new scr...
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