An ethical can of worms for software certifiers

Society and the software industry are well served if certifiers do their job ethically. Thus it behooves everyone to, as much as possible, create an environment that encourages ethical behavior while identifying and discouraging unethical behavior during software certification. If enough discerning customers shun low-quality, uncertified software, those products will be replaced by higher quality, certified software. This reasoning implies, however, that options exist; the continuing trend of companies absorbing or merging with other companies could result in a shrinking pool of developers, offering customers fewer and fewer software options. Reduced competition may also reduce the probability that software adhering to quality standards will be available in the marketplace. To avoid this fate, the software development industry must mature professionally. Society needs this maturity as computing and telecommunications become ubiquitous. Software professionals must demand ethical behavior of themselves and an ethical environment to work in. Software certifiers, properly supported, could became an important part of an ethical software development environment.