1. Who are the stakeholders in the scenario?

As a stakeholder is any person or organisation, who can be positively or negatively

impacted by, or cause an impact on the actions of a company, government, or
organisation, stakeholders in the scenario are: the programmer/analyst, the large retail
business, customers, management, project leader, and all staff working for the
company.

2. What are the facts in the scenario? Do not copy and paste
the scenario. Rather, the facts should be a numbered list
of summarised, relevant points.
1. A programmer/analyst working in a large retail company was assigned to develop a
customer billing and credit system.
2. The budget given to the billing and credit system development was depleted before
the project is closed, even though the budged was estimated as sufficient.
3. The programmer/analyst kept contact the management about the upcoming
problems due to the insufficient fund and the timeframe.
4. The management attempted to direct the programmer/analyst to finish the
development with the lowest cost and unexpected deadline.
5. The programmer/analyst was forced to finish the development as priority.
6. The program installed was inferior with problems in multiple capabilities.
7. The programmer/analyst was informed that all omitted capabilities can be added in
subsequent versions after production of the initial version that already installed.
8. The implementation of the new system was difficult, expensive, and extensive and
completed altogether.
9. Inferior results produced from the new system occurred and caused customers
enraged.
10. The retail company could not manage the problems caused by the inferior system
even explain the faulty output to the customers.
11. Inferior system led an increase in fraud.
12. The company and customers both suffered from the premature implementation of
the inferior system.
13. The project leader took the responsibilities for the losses.

3. Which facts raise ethical concerns? Why?

The programmer/analyst contact the management for the insufficient budget on the
project. After the programmer/analyst discover the problem, the first person he
should talk to is the project leader to keep the project leader well informed on any
facet of the project, especially a fatal problem like insufficient budget. Thus, the
project leader might contact with the management to discuss the budget,
meanwhile, the programmer/analyst should keep working on the project in order to
keep the development as close as planned without distraction.
The management directed and forced the programmer/analyst to finish the
development as soon as possible without accurate budget plan and schedule. The
management should contact project leader to discuss budget and schedule of the
project instead of direct to the programmer.

The programmer took the advices from the management and finished the
development that has multiple problems. The programmer should not take any
advice that is known to lead great problems to all stakeholders and need to inform
both the management and the project leader what have happened and what will
happen if they allowed an inferior system implemented without testing and scale
control.
After the impact due to the new system, the company did not take any action to
resolve the problems. The company after the discovery of problems formed should
organise meeting dedicated on the incident and implement contingency plan to the
incident along with making compensation to the customers who were involved.

4. What is the single major ethical dilemma that must be

resolved immediately?
The major ethical dilemma that must be resolved immediately is the primacy of the
public interest. The management wanted the project finished as soon as possible with
the lowest budget and left the product inferior transgressing all other stakeholders.

5. What are the rights and duties of each of the

stakeholders?

The programmer/analyst, duties including keeping himself competent working for

the company as a programmer/analyst and be honest and rights including to refuse
any advices that may be harmful to other stakeholders.
The large retail business, to be responsible to customers and employees.
Customers, reporting errors discovered to the company
Management, manage the conflict between the company and customers and keep
the operational activities under control.
Project leader, act as a bridge between the project team and the management,
All staff working for the company, keep competent working in the company.

6. Does the ACS Codes of Ethics and Professional Practice

provide any advice on these issues? If so what?
1.2.1. The Primacy of the Public Interest
a. Identify those potentially impacted by your work and explicitly consider their
interests; (Both the management and the programmer were unable to identify the potential
impacts that will be incurred by the decision onto the interests of all stakeholders)
b. Raise with stakeholders any potential conflicts between your professional activity
and legal or other accepted public requirements; (The programmer failed to raise the
conflicts between his professional activities and the direction from the management)
c. Advise your stakeholders as soon as possible of any conflicts of interest or
conscientious objections that you have; (The programmer did only advise the management
that the impending problems but fail to seek other routes to manage the conflicts of interest
and conscientious objections,)

d. Endeavour to preserve the integrity, security, continuity and utility of ICT; (The
programmer failed to keep endeavour to preserve the integrity, security, continuity and
utility of ICT by being forced to finish the development in inferior.)
1.2.2. The Enhancement of Quality of Life
a. Recognise, in your work, the role that ICT can play to enhance the quality of life of
people, particularly the disadvantaged or those with disabilities; (The programmer did not
recognise the role by accepting the direction from the management.)
b. Protect and promote the health and safety of those affected by your work; (The
inferior new system could cause extreme stress to customers and employees with
unmanageable errors.)
c. Understand, and give due regard to, the perceptions of those affected by your work;
(The faulty production caused massive disorientation to all the stakeholders, therefore,
neither the management nor the programmer understand, and give due regard to the
perceptions of those affected by their work.)
d. Attempt to increase the feelings of personal satisfaction, competence, and control
of those affected by your work. (Such feelings can only be increased by delivering acceptable
production.)
1.2.3. Honesty
b. Not knowingly mislead a client or potential client as to the suitability of a product or
service; (By releasing the inferior production, the company is knowingly misleading
customers that the product is capable to be what it meant to be.)
c. Distinguish between your professional and personal opinions and advice; (The
programmer kept warning the management the impending problems was professional but
he failed to insist his professional activity.)
d. Give realistic estimates for projects under your control; (The project leader had the
responsibilities to have realistic plans and estimates for the project but he left the project
without the proper plans and estimates to the management)
e. Qualify professional opinions which you know are based on limited knowledge or
experience; (Neither the project leader nor the programmer was able to qualify professional
opinion from the management, since they very likely already know what impacts would be
caused by the opinion from the management and the management may not have the
expertise in ICT area.)
1.2.4. Competence
a. Endeavour to provide products and services which match the operational and
financial needs of your stakeholders; (The management, programmer, and project leader
delivered an inferior system that did not match all the operational and financial needs of the
stakeholders.)
c. Make yourself aware of relevant standards and legislation, and act accordingly; (The
programmer was forced by the decision from the management with no awareness of any of
the relevant standards, legislation, and act.)

d. Respect and protect your stakeholders' proprietary interests; (By delivering the
inferior system, the company along with the management, the project leader, and the
programmer failed to respect and protect the stakeholders proprietary interests.)
e. Advice your stakeholders when you believe a proposed project, product or service is
not in their best interest; (The reason for the management decided to finish the
development with malfunctions might be the entire project was not in their best interest.
Hence, the project leader should discover the reluctance from the management and give
advice to hold or terminate the project.)
f. Accept responsibility for your work; (The project leader seems have no involvement
of the project. Therefore, he did not take the responsibilities as a project leader.)
g. Respect, and seek when necessary, the professional expertise of colleagues in their
areas of competence. (The management did not respect and seek the professional expertise
from the project team, instead forced the programmer to finish the development
transgressing all the other stakeholders.)

7. How would you resolve the dilemma identified in point (4)

above? Justify your decision.
The programmer should contact the project leader to seek solution instead of direct warning
to the management to let the project leader evaluate the situation and organise meeting in
order to take further actions, such as to report to the management with clear analysis and
recommendations. Thus, the management should have got better understanding on how
much time and budget that need to be invested to complete the development and reevaluate the project in order to take a wise decision that will not harm any stakeholder.

8. How are each of the stakeholders listed in point (1) above

affected by your decision?

The programmer/analyst would not encounter the situation of being forced by the
management.
The large retail business would not experience the decline in both business and
profit.
Customers would not suffer from the incorrect results generated by the inferior
system.
The management would have choices from terminating the project, investing more
time and budget into the project with professional advices.
The project leader would have clearer understanding on his responsibilities and
direct the project team and communicate for the project more promptly.
All staff working for the company would not affected by the damaged company
image.

9. What should have been done to avoid the dilemma in the

first place?

At the initial phase of the project, the project leader should be able to identify if the
project is interested by the internal stakeholders. By doing so, to guarantee the

project will get support from the management, if any unexpected problems
occurred during the development phase.
The project leader, at the planning phase, should have relatively accurate
estimations that are error-tolerant on the budget and timeframe in order to prevent
any unforeseeable problems during subsequent phases.
The governance of the project should be confirmed during the kick-off meeting of
the project to prevent any irregular contact, such as direct contact between the
management and the programmer, that interfere the healthiness of the
development.

10.
What federal and/or state legislation currently exists
in Australia that could apply in this or other similar
situations? Consider any contractual obligations that may
be relevant.

Privacy Act 1988

Australian Consumer Law

11.
What policies and procedures, if any, should be in
place at the organisational level to address this and other
similar issues?

A clear project governance should be in place to address such issues.