1: Be honest
I could lie about my strengths, my background, my expertise, and even the hours me spend on a project. It might be the largest temptation my face because there are so few auditing features in place. The client has to take a leap of faith when hiring me. I DON'T violate that trust for any reason, especially not to keep the job — which brings me to #2.
2: Say no when necessary
Clients hire me for my opinions, my experience, and my knowledge. Giving them anything less violates their trust and will eventually bite me back, hard. The client might not act on my advice. A disagreement might even lead to a parting of the ways, so it's difficult to speak up when I disagree, but me must.
3: Wait when necessary
Knowing when to wait is the flip side of #2. It's unethical to push my point of view beyond discovery. In other words, it's my job to present what I have learned and my best recommendation. It's not my job to force my recommendation.
4: Concentrate on the client at hand
When charging a client, I belong to that client. I Don't troubleshoot another client's problem; don't even think about another client's project. If I must take a call from one client while at another client's facility, I will be discreet. I will never say, "I've got to take this call" and turn my back on a client in their own facility! If possible, turn my off during these conversations. "Give me a minute to turn off my cellphone so we're not disturbed," goes a long way.
5: Lock the backdoor on my way out
Developers like to code a backdoor that no one else knows about. It's a failsafe method for gaining access when all normal routes fail. When I leave a project, provide documentation for locking or even destroying my backdoor. I have no ethical reason for maintaining it. (I'll get hate mail for this one.)
6: Maintain confidentiality
Due to some consultants have multiple clients in the same field. There's nothing inherently unethical about it. There are lots of IT projects that aren't competitive, so providing those skills to competitors won't put them at risk. Two firms fighting to be the first to market a phone app won't both hire me as a developer. But both might hire me to update their disaster preparedness plan.
To protect myself and my clients, provide full disclosure when working for competitors. In addition, be extremely careful when contracting proprietary details — there's a fine line between my hands and protecting each client's interests.
7: Respect management's confidence
Just as I shouldn't violate confidentiality between clients, I shouldn't spread confidential information through layers of the same company. When the client shares confidential information with me as part of the discovery process, I don't share that information with others in the company. For instance, if I learn from the CEO that the company is preparing to outsource its customer service department, I can't warn my best friend, who works in customer service.
8: Don't stir the pot
Every company has its own drama. I Stay out of it. The only views my client is paying me for are those that support my IT position. Keep my consulting views and leave all the drama to the folks in Human Resources.
9: Report unethical
During the discovery process, I learn that the manager in charge of my project is doing something unethical or illegal (related to the company), I have an obligation to report my findings (not my suspicions) to someone in a position to intercede. However, it's just as unethical (in my opinion) to exclude the manager in question from the process. Call a meeting to present my evidence but invite the manager, too. Take the high road and then find another job, because I can't survive this one.
10: Don't create a dependency
Don't covertly create a dependency just to maintain a relationship (paycheck) with a client. A project might yield a new maintenance or support contract, but it must grow from need and mutual agreement, not or trickery.
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