Rational's Software Development Solutions Enable Federal Agencies to Comply with Section 508.

Rational Addresses Federal Government's Software Development Needs

LEXINGTON, Mass., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ --

Rational Software (Nasdaq: RATL) today announced that its software development solutions are available to enable federal agencies to comply with Section 508 of the amended Rehabilitation Act of 1998.

Section 508 requires that federal agencies' electronic and information technology be accessible to people with disabilities. Agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others.

Rational Software provides a full suite of software development tools, services and best practices that can help development teams at federal agencies who need to migrate their existing applications or build new applications to comply with Section 508. Of those tools, federal agencies specifically can implement Rational(R) RequisitePro(R) with Section 508 specific assets, an integrated requirements management tool that promotes better communication between project team members to manage Section 508 requirements when developing software applications and to ensure that these requirements are met.

In addition, the use of Rational(R) ClearQuest(R), a highly flexible defect and change tracking system, enables federal software application development teams to manage change requests in response to Section 508 requirements. Using Rational ClearQuest, Section 508 issues arising from customers, users, and compliance officers are captured and addressed, avoiding the risk of a non-compliance penalty.

Rational Suite(R) TestStudio(R), a fully integrated set of automated testing tools for accurate functional, reliability, and performance testing, can test client applications and Web sites as organizations change them for Section 508 compliance. Rational Suite TestStudio allows agencies to map requirements to test plans, and automatically re-test applications and Web sites as they ensure Section 508 compliance when new versions are released.

"Rational tools helps organizations ensure Section 508 compliance," said Eric Schurr, senior vice president of marketing for Rational Software. "We're committed to providing software development solutions to help federal agencies comply with this regulation and others. We believe our tools, best practices and wide range of services are well-equipped to help state and federal government agencies meet their unique needs for software development."

Detailed information on Rational's products is available on the Internet at http://www.rational.com/products.

Additional information on Section 508 is available on the Internet at http://www.section508.gov.

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About Rational Software Corporation

Rational Software provides a software development platform that improves the speed, quality, and predictability of software projects. This integrated, full life-cycle solution combines software engineering best practices, market- leading tools, and professional services. Ninety-six of the Fortune 100 rely on Rational tools and services to build better software, faster. This open platform is extended by partners who provide more than 500 complementary products and services. Founded in 1981, Rational is one of the world's largest software companies, with revenues of $796.7 million in its twelve months ended September 30, 2001, and over 3,500 employees worldwide. Rational is a component of the Nasdaq-100 Index(R). Additional information is available on the Internet at www.rational.com.

The word "Rational" and Rational's products are trademarks of Rational Software Corporation. References to other companies and their products use trademarks owned by the respective companies and are for reference purposes only.

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