AverStar's Ready 2000 Service Helps Companies Audit Y2K Readiness.

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 1999--

Integrated IV&V Service Detects Latent Renovation

Errors and Evaluates Test Coverage of Changed Code for

Comprehensive Portfolio Readiness Evaluation

AverStar Inc., a trusted leader in independent verification and validation (IV&V) for customers' mission critical systems, today announced Ready 2000, its IV&V service which integrates both renovation and test quality evaluations for a total picture of portfolio readiness. Ready2000 evaluates a business' Year 2000 compliance by identifying missed and incorrect date item changes in renovated code and by evaluating test coverage of the changed lines of code. It is unique in that it provides quantitative evaluation of the two most critical stages of a Year 2000 program: renovation and test.

"Just 10 months remain until the Year 2000, and many companies are entering the test or implementation phases of their Year 2000 program. Critical to the success of a Year 2000 program is the use of an independent source for software assurance - a source that wasn't involved in code correction," Michael Alexander, AverStar Chairman and CEO, said. "AverStar has more than 30 years of experience in software assurance for mission-critical systems of government and commercial customers, like NASA and the U.S. Postal Service. This uniquely positions us to offer innovative, secure and proven Year 2000 validation services to meet the needs of our customers."

"One major problem that IDC surveys have uncovered is the poor testing discipline applied to the Y2K project by too many IT departments. As a result, IDC predicts that on January 1, 2000, 2.5 percent of business applications will still be flawed. The boards of directors' audit committees and their internal auditors face daunting problems in verifying the test results performed in house. Services such as Ready 2000 offer an independent alternative to the internal testing, thus increasing the chances of uncovering undetected problems," said Tom Oleson, research director at International Data Corporation in Framingham, Mass.

AverStar developed the automated Ready 2000 service knowing that the evaluation process couldn't be done manually due to the shortage of time and the high potential for human error. Rather than adopting an abbreviated approach of simply passing code through a toolset, Ready 2000 leverages quality IV&V processes developed by AverStar through years of experience. AverStar designed Ready 2000 using IV&V procedures similar to those it uses to evaluate space shuttle software systems. Ready 2000 integrates custom and off the shelf tools for process automation, and certified evaluators provide objective analysis to deliver the highest quality evaluations available in the market today.

"We have found samples with 70 renovation errors per 100,000 lines of code and we have seen test programs that are only testing 10 percent of a company's remediated code," Bruce Burton, AverStar executive vice president, said. "I don't think many companies would be satisfied with those results. We've found code errors in renovated portfolios, even for customers with exemplary Year 2000 programs. Customers have told us they are much more confident having performed IV&V on their Year 2000 fixes." AverStar offers two different services under the Ready 2000 label - Renovation Quality Evaluation (RQE) and Test Quality Evaluation (TQE).

RQE

RQE evaluates the renovation quality of a client's portfolio or application. RQE can identify problems before testing or after implementation and it detects improper corrections, questionable corrections and most importantly, code left uncorrected. The RQE report summarizes the quality of the renovation and provides details about the completeness and correctness of the renovation. It also provides specific recommendations based on the findings and details on each detected error to allow rapid correction.

TQE

TQE independently evaluates the quality of a client's test program. TQE analyzes and instruments the code so that, when tested, it generates quantitative feedback on test quality and coverage. The TQE report includes code complexity metrics and detailed metrics on how well the test program tested specific modules and date paths, thus allowing clients to better focus their test efforts.

Pricing and Availability

Ready 2000 is available immediately, with the cost based on the number of lines of code being evaluated. Customers can purchase either of the services or opt for a combined RQE and TQE evaluation.

About AverStar, Inc.

AverStar creates and validates exceptional software and solutions for the critical systems of government and commercial customers. The 1300-employee company delivers high-quality, reliable products and services for civil government, aerospace, defense and corporate customers. AverStar headquarters are located at 23 Fourth Avenue, Burlington, Mass., 01803, with 30 offices throughout the United States. Please visit AverStar's Website at www.averstar.com.