Ethical Check

Why

Norms and values differ between people and societies. Make sure your design and development decisions do not lead to conflicts with certain norms and values.

How

Investigate which decisions could lead to ethical dilemmas and explore the possible views of people from diverse backgrounds. This will provide information about the alternatives.

Ingredients

• Expertise in relevant norms and values.

• Ethical codes or standards defined by the companies or professions you work for.

• An ethical dilemma solving strategy.

Practice

Ethical checks are used in product and system development as well as for research propositions. They are especially important for high-risk sectors (e.g. medicine, robotics, public information systems) and in situations where sensitive personal data is stored. Ethical checks are often coupled with Risk Analysis.