Integrity and Values
In order to be effective, each and every Enterprise Architect must be held to the highest standard of professional accountability for ethics and values. As a professional Enterprise Architect, I agree to follow these guidelines (derived from the CIPS code of ethics as published by the Federation of EA Professional Organizations):
- An enterprise architect should respect the privacy of their interactions with their client
An enterprise architect is going to have privileged access to information, perhaps damaging information, about their client and/or employer. Privacy must be maintained for privileged information, above and beyond the requirements of the law, to establish an appropriate level of trust and have the required information for making excellent decisions. - An enterprise architect should protect public interest and maintain integrity
An Enterprise Architects will accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health, and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly to appropriate authorities factors that might endanger the public or the environment; An Enterprise Architects will participate and act with integrity in a manner that upholds the reputation and good standing of Enterprise Architecture profession. - An enterprise architect must be prepared to offer alternate architectures
The client might have fiscal or time constraints with an architecture. The architect needs to be prepared to offer alternative architectures that address constraints, even if doing so produces an architecture that contains compromises that they find distasteful. All compromises in an architecture will be delivered in an open and visible manner, highlighting any technical debt or inefficiencies that may be hidden in the design. - An enterprise architect shall communicate clear expectations and be competent to perform any services for the work accepted.
An enterprise architect shall establish win-win scenarios whenever possible. They must obtain informed consent with clearly define expectations. An Enterprise Architect should encourage a second opinion and be flexible and professional in conflict resolution. Enterprise Architects owe their client a duty to be competent to perform any Enterprise Architecture services undertaken on such party’s behalf. An Enterprise Architect shall perform services in a timely manner that respects all agreements about the scope of their efforts and the costs involved. - An enterprise architect should avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist
An enterprise architect should avoid making decisions that benefit personal interests, or the interest of a close friend, family member, business associate, corporation or partnership in which he/she hold a significant interest, or a person to whom he/she owe an obligation. More importantly, an Enterprise Architect should avoid entanglements with those who could influence his/her decisions and impair his/her ability to act in their employer or client’s best interests, or represent their employer or client fairly, impartially and without bias. In addition, an Enterprise Architect will declare any personal interest that might affect, or be seen by others to affect, his/her impartiality or decision making - An enterprise architect shall treat all people in an equitable manner
An enterprise architect shall give credit where credit is due and make performance criteria explicit. An Enterprise Architect must not discriminate in any manner based on grounds such as race, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, social origin, family status, or disability. An Enterprise Architect shall exemplify the values of equality, tolerance, and respect for others. - An enterprise architect shall be accountable for conducting themselves in a manner of appropriate independence and autonomy.
He/she may terminate services that cease to be of value, are no longer collaborative, or are not of acceptable quality and may respectfully refuse to offer a requested service either formally or informally as required by integrity, discretion or personal moral values. - An enterprise architect must uphold responsibility to the Enterprise Architecture profession
An enterprise architect seeks to support and advance the interests of the enterprise architecture profession (for example, by providing feedback to professional bodies, by recommending enterprise architecture approaches to clients, and by helping his or her peers improve their skills). An enterprise architect will look for opportunities to update and improve the Body of Knowledge relating to the profession, and to develop the profession generally. An enterprise architect will keep professional qualifications and certifications up-to-date. An enterprise architect will demonstrate awareness that he or she represents the profession in the public eye and should behave to build trust at all times. - An enterprise architect must maintain high standards of personal conduct
An enterprise architect will be courteous and respectful with clients, fellow workers, and sub-contractors. He or she will behave with integrity, humility and grace, using appropriate attire, speech and gestures, and in a manner that does not detract from their ability to maintain respect and deliver highly trusted results. An enterprise architect will always uphold the laws of whatever country he or she is working in.