Software 2022, 1, 31–52. https://doi.org/10.3390/software1010003 www.mdpi.com/journal/software Article Ethical Issues in Software Requirements Engineering Seblewongel Esseynew Biable 1, *, Nuno Manuel Garcia 2 , Dida Midekso 3 and Nuno Pombo 2 1 Department of Information Systems, College of Computing Science, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan P.O. Box 94, Ethiopia 2 Instituto de Telecomunicações, Universidade da Beira Interior, 6200‐001 Covilha, Portugal; ngarcia@di.ubi.pt (N.M.G.); ngpombo@di.ubi.pt (N.P.) 3 Department of Computer Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 1176, Ethiopia; dida.midekso@aau.edu.et * Correspondence: sebess2011@gmail.com; Tel.: +251‐913‐25‐6851 Abstract: Context: Ethics have broad applications in different fields of study and different contexts. Like other fields of study, ethics have a significant impact on the decisions made in computing con‐ cerning software artifact production and its processes. Hence, in this research, ethics is considered in the context of requirements engineering during the software development process. Objective: The aim of this paper is to discuss the investigation results regarding ethical problems of require‐ ments engineering processes by taking sample software developing companies and exposing exist‐ ing research gaps. Method: This research uses interviewing, focus group discussions, purposive sampling, and qualitative analysis research methods. Result: This research finds an absence of in‐ dustry practices, professional responsibility code of conduct standards, and other guidelines within companies when integrating ethical concerns of software during requirements engineering. It also indicates that almost all companies have no identification methods and checking mechanisms for ethical concern considerations. Furthermore, the major identified ethical concerns are classified into six categories as requirements identification problems, quality‐related problems, carrying out un‐ permitted activities, unwillingness to give requirements, knowledge gaps and lack of legal grounds/rules for accountability. Conclusion: From the findings of this research, it can be concluded that, in the case software companies, there is no specific method for identifying ethical concerns. Additionally, there are no standards and guidelines used within the companies. This implies the need to overcome the existing and emerging ethical issues of requirements engineering. Keywords: software engineering; ethical concerns; requirements engineering; software develop‐ ment 1. Introduction Motivation for the Research and Statement of the Problem Ethics have broad applications in different fields of study and different contexts [1]. Like other fields of study, ethics have a significant impact on the decisions made by end‐ users, customers, professionals, and companies concerning software artifact production and its processes [2]. There are different meanings of ethics [3]. Diverse scholars and phi‐ losophers define ethics in a variety of ways. Vallor et al. [1] define ethics as a philosophical discipline of study, as “[…] a systematic approach to understanding, analyzing, and dis‐ tinguishing matters of right and wrong, good and bad, and admirable and deplorable as they relate to the well‐being of and the relationships among sentient beings”. The word ‘ethics’ originates from the Greek word ethikos, which refers to the ethos, meaning a dis‐ tinguishing feature, essence, or insolence [3]. Directly or indirectly, there is a close interrelationship between ethics and software. The work of software engineering is intimately associated with human beings. This makes the field more dependent on the ethical knowledge, experiences, and professional Citation: Biable, S.E.; Garcia, N.M.; Midekso, D.; Pombo, N. Ethical Issues in Software Requirements Engineering. Software 2022, 1, 31–52. https://doi.org/10.3390/ software1010003 Academic Editor: Stefan Wagner Received: 25 January 2022 Accepted: 15 February 2022 Published: 18 February 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu‐ tral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu‐ tional affiliations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Submitted for possible open access publication under the terms and con‐ ditions of the Creative Commons At‐ tribution (CC BY) license (https://cre‐ ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).