IEEE Code of Ethics

We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:

• To accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment
• To avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist
• To be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data
• To reject bribery in all its forms
• To improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences
• To maintain and improve our technical Competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations
• To seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others
• To treat fairly all persons regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, age or national origin
• To avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action.
• To assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development, and to support them in following this code of ethics.

Consultant's Code of Ethics

As members of the IEEE Oregon Consultant's Network, we recognize that we face additional ethical constraints beyond those outlined in the IEEE Code of Ethics. The professional reputation of all consultants rests on our individual actions. The relationship between client and consultant is between two businesses, and different than that between employer and employee. The following principles help describe this relationship.

We shall endeavor to perform all consulting tasks responsibly and reliably, and give our clients good value for their money, while avoiding misunderstandings and unachievable expectations. We therefore agree:

1. To recognize that we are engaged by our clients and paid to help solve their problems, not our own.
2. To accept responsibility for our actions.
3. To accept only those assignments which have the potential of providing a genuine benefit to the client.
4. To advise our clients when we believe a project will not be successful.
5. To prepare statements of goals and objectives with our clients, and to keep these documents current as work progresses.
6. To agree in advance on the basis for fees and expenses commensurate with the services we deliver and the responsibility we accept.
7. To disclose to our clients in advance any fees or commissions that we will receive for equipment, supplies, or services that we recommend.
8. To prepare timely and complete invoices for our clients, and provide advance warning for unusual expenses.
9. To keep our clients informed of the status of the work. While any technical endeavor can result in surprises, we will help our clients mitigate the impact of these surprises.
10. To find suitable replacements should we become incapable of completing a contract.
11. To divulge any potential conflicts of interest prior to accepting the contract, or as soon as possible after a conflict is discovered.
12. To establish reasonable and balanced agreements for patents, trade secrets, and "intellectual property" specific to the project, honoring agreements entered into with previous employers and clients.
13. To treat all information provided by the client with appropriate confidentiality.
14. To avoid providing information to our clients which they should not possess.
15. To avoid work from any other client which is in direct competition with projects for current clients, for a mutually agreed upon period.
16. To agree on the archiving of notes, documentation, and computer files at project completion.
17. To clarify the ownership of materials and equipment purchased during the course of a project, and decide in advance how those items will be distributed at completion.
18. To not initiate or solicit recruitment of any employee away from the client.
19. To not advertise our services in a deceptive manner.
20. To avoid misrepresentation of the consulting profession, consulting firms, or sole practitioners.
21. To give full commitment to the assignment and the achievement of the agreed objectives.