Ethics in Requirements: Where the Boundary Is—and How to Defend It

It’s easy to hide almost anything in requirements: auto-subscriptions, pop-up banners, a “great” metric that masks an uncomfortable truth. And typically, it doesn’t look like malicious intent, but like necessity. At what point does it become an ethical issue rather than a product trade-off, and where is an analyst’s personal boundary?

We’ll look at real practice: how to spot the grey zone early in wording, user flows, and reporting; how to turn a vague sense that “something feels off” into clear questions and arguments; and how to define boundaries in a way you can defend them in discussions with decision-makers. No moralising — just tools that help you make conscious choices without losing self-respect.