Question

For the scenario below, analyze it by completing the following two phases. There are several examples of how to analyze a scenario in the textbook starting on page 474.

Brainstorming phase

• List all the people and organizations affected. (They are the stakeholders.)
• List risks, issues, problems, and consequences.
• List benefits and identify who gets each benefit.
• In cases where there is not a simple yes or no decision, but rather one has to choose some action, list possible actions.

Analysis phase

• Identify responsibilities of the decision maker. (Consider responsibilities of both general ethics and professional ethics.)
• Identify rights of stakeholders. (It might be helpful to clarify whether they are negative or positive rights, in the sense of Section 1.4.2.)
• Consider the impact of each potential action on the stakeholders. Analyze consequences, risks, benefits, harms, and costs for each action considered.
• Find sections of the SE Code or the ACM Code that apply. Consider the guidelines in Section 9.2.3. Consider Kant’s, Mill’s, and Rawls’ approaches. Then, categorize each potential action or response as ethically obligatory, ethically prohibited, or ethically acceptable.
• If there are several ethically acceptable options, select an option by considering the ethical merits of each, courtesy to others, practicality, self-interest, personal preferences, and so on. (In some cases, plan a sequence of actions, depending on the response to each.

Scenario

You are the lead programmer on a new software product. You work for a small, privately owned software company that has had only limited success in the past. There is nothing else on the market similar to the new software you are developing. The software is just entering the testing stage, which is estimated to take approximately 10-12 months. The scheduled release date is 14 months from now. You and the other developers have been working long hours, 60 hours a week, and earning a relatively low salary. The entire development team will be sharing in the profits once the new software is launched. The owner has just returned from an industry tradeshow, and has learned about a consumer tradeshow that would be perfect for launching the new product. The project manager meets with you and the other developers on the team and tells you that the owner is very excited and determined to release the product at the consumer show, which is only 4 months away. It will take at least 2 months to prepare the marketing and packaging for the product. You are told you have 2 months to test and fix any problems.

Answer 1

1. What is Brainstorming phase?

Also called as planning phase where the requirements of the software product are gathered, discussed with stakeholders and everyone agrees upon the expectations on the final product.

Brainstorming phase for our new software product

The brainstorming phase is the most important phase and it requires a good rapport among the entire team so that effective communication is achieved between stakeholders, project owners and the end users. The stakeholders for our software product would be:

1. Programmers

2. Testers

3. Product Owner

4. End users

5. Project Manager

6. Sales team

7. Government, Share holders, Regulatory bodies (if applicable)

Merits

As we are a small company and have a limited success history, the product which is completely new might rule the software market and give a huge profit to the company. As a small company, the team has the liberty to experiment new stuff and come up with a solution.

As the employees will be sharing the benefits after the release, it might encourage them to work proactively.

Risks and consequences

As we have limited working resources, this might be a huge burden to the team as we are already working for long hours, with a relatively low salary. The employees might end up frustrated and this may incur a huge loss to the organization.

With a very limited time of 2 months to test and fix the issues, we might end up showcasing a buggy product to the consumers.

Due to very limited time scope, we might end up compromising many interesting designs/features of the product which is not good.

2. Analysis phase

Responsibilities of decision makers

1. Be open and honest about capabilities, safety, and limitations of software.

2. Design for real users.

3. Maintain a good rapport with the entire team.

4. Develop good communication skills.

Rights of stakeholders

1. To learn about the software product and objectives

2. To hear ideas and alternatives for the requirements

3. To develop a system that meets the functional and quality needs

4. To describe characteristics that make the product easy to use

5. To receive explanations of artifacts that developers use as part of working with project stakeholders, such as models they create with them (e.g. user stories or essential UI prototypes), or artifacts that they present to them (e.g. UML deployment diagrams)

6. To be presented with opportunities to adjust requirements to permit reuse, reduce development time, or to reduce development costs