Dr. Phillip A. Laplante, Ph.D., associate professor of software engineering at the Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Studies, expresses the need for software professionals to have a similar oath as doctors and nurses. Following is his recommendation.
"I solemnly pledge, first, to do no harm to the software entrusted to me; to not knowingly adopt any harmful practice, nor to adopt any practice or tool that I do not fully understand. With fervor, I promise to abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will do all in my power to expand my skills and understanding, and will maintain and elevate the standard of my profession. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the stakeholders, to hold in confidence all information that comes to my knowledge in the practice of my calling, and to devote myself to the welfare of the project committed to my care. "
He also talks about "What's wrong with taking our profession a little more seriously?" in his article; pretty interesting.
First, Do No Harm: A Hippocratic Oath for Software Developers
PS. I forgot to mention earlier that this posting was on request of a friend who was interested in knowing about existence of a Hippocratic Oath for Software Developers.
