Ethical Decision-Making Checklist

A practical checklist guiding teams through ethical considerations for operational and development decisions. Use it throughout planning, implementation, and deployment phases to ensure responsible outcomes.

✅ Stakeholder Identification

•  Have we identified all direct and indirect stakeholders?
  Who will be affected by this decision, either immediately or over time?
•  Are stakeholder perspectives adequately represented?
  Have we consulted marginalized groups, customers, or subject-matter experts?

✅ Objectives and Ethical Alignment

•  Are our goals clearly defined and ethically justifiable?
  Does this serve a legitimate need without compromising our values?
•  Does this decision align with our organization’s mission and principles?
  Would we be proud to share this publicly or with affected users?

✅ Fairness and Inclusion

•  Could this decision disproportionately harm or exclude certain groups?
  Are there unintentional biases in data, access, or design?
•  Have we implemented measures to prevent discrimination or exclusion?
  Have we reviewed for fairness across different demographics and use cases?

✅ Transparency and Communication

•  Is our decision-making process transparent?
  Can someone outside the team understand how this decision was made?
•  Have we clearly explained what is happening and why?
  Would users or stakeholders feel informed and respected?

✅ Privacy and Data Use

•  Are we minimizing the data we collect and use?
  Is every piece of data collected necessary and used appropriately?
•  Are our data practices clearly communicated and easy to understand?
  Would users be surprised—or alarmed—by how their data is handled?

✅ Prevention of Misuse

•  Could this be used in harmful, unintended, or malicious ways?
  What could go wrong if the feature is misused or exploited?
•  Have we implemented safeguards to limit misuse?
  Are there technical, legal, or educational protections in place?

✅ Environmental and Societal Impact

•  Have we considered the environmental impact of this decision?
  Are we contributing to energy overuse or unnecessary waste?
•  Does this decision contribute to the social good or cause harm?
  Could this decision enhance or harm the public trust or social cohesion?

✅ Accountability and Ownership

•  Is someone clearly responsible for the ethical review of this decision?
  Is there ownership of both the implementation and the outcomes?
•  Are we prepared to take responsibility for the consequences?
  Can we trace and audit the origin and rationale of this decision?

✅ Ongoing Monitoring and Feedback

•  Do we have a response plan if something goes wrong?
  Can we reverse or adjust the decision if harm is discovered?
•  Is there a plan to monitor the ethical impact over time?
  How will we know if unintended consequences arise later?