Suppose you are a systems analyst studying the order processing system at Boolean Toys, a fast-growing developer of software for preschool children. You know that many data entry users have complained about the input screens. Some users would prefer to rearrange the order of the fields, others would like to change the background color on their screens, and still others want shortcuts that would allow them to avoid a series of introductory screens. What if Boolean’s users could customize their own data entry screens without assistance from the IT staff by using a menu-driven utility program? What would be the pros and cons of such an approach? When should a systems analyst decide a design issue, and when should users be allowed to select what works best for them?
One of the systems analysts on the project team thought that he did a good job of designing the company’s tech support webpage, but his supervisor isn’t so sure. His supervisor is concerned that the design is very similar to a page used by the company’s major competitor, and she asked him whether he had used any HTML code from that site in his design. Although the analyst didn’t copy any of the code, he did examine it in his web browser to see how they handled some design issues.
The supervisor asked the analyst to investigate webpage copyright issues and report back to her. In his research, the analyst learned that outright copying would be a copyright violation, but merely viewing other sites to get design ideas would be permissible. What is not so clear is the gray area in the middle. The analyst asked you, as a friend, for your opinion on this question: Even if no actual copying is involved, are there ethical constraints on how far you should go in using the creative work of others? How would you answer?