Software professional code of ethics... chortle

http://elegantcode.com/2012/04/18/software-professional-code-of-ethics/

This is an interesting article... in spite of itself.  The author makes some interesting points about the futility of the exercise.  Simply because, I feel, they have wandered into the fantasy land of "higher purpose" type ideals. 

I think that any statement of ethics should firstly come from a realistic place. 

1) Look after yourself first.  ( I think self interest must be the basis for any healthy belief structure... but thats me)
2) Manage your clients expectations. 
3) Communicate only as much as your clients will find useful.
4) Design the system so its cheap to change.
5) Design a staged development and implementation cycle so neither yourself or the client has any unpleasant suprises.
6) Establish a fixed price quote for each stage before the work starts and put in place a payment schedule.  (Rolling costs are just a scam.)
7) Manage your motivation. (Celebrate regularly)
8) Write good documentation. 
9) Never trust your client.
10) Accept that everything changes.  Your work is ephemerial.  Nothing you do matters in the long run. Try not to get too attached.