Technology Innovator Ivar Jacobson to Join Icon Medialab.

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

NEW YORK/BRUSSELS, Belgium --(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2000

As Chief Architect Jacobson will create proprietary integrated

e-business development process to advance Icon's competitive edge

Icon Medialab International AB, one of the leading global e-business and Internet professional services firms, and Ivar Jacobson, the renowned technology innovator, announced today that they have signed a multi-year contract under which Dr. Jacobson will serve as Chief Architect of Icon Medialab.

Dr. Jacobson will spearhead proprietary intellectual process development within the company worldwide and, together with Icon's industry experts, create and implement the next generation integrated e-business development process, providing unparalleled benefit to clients globally.

Building on the Rational Unified Process (RUP), a pioneering customer-centric software development methodology, Icon's unique approach will further integrate the company's existing core competencies into a single unified process. The result will be increased efficiencies for clients and Icon alike, including greater flexibility; unrivaled adaptability, scalability, reliability and quality; and faster speed-to-market. The proprietary approach also will enable Icon to customize processes and develop consistent frameworks for each client on a global basis.

Ulf Dahlsten, President and CEO of Icon Medialab, said, "With over 30 years of experience, Ivar Jacobson is one of the leading methodologists in the world. To say we're excited about him joining Icon Medialab is an understatement." Mr. Dahlsten continued, "Ivar will be an invaluable resource as we continue to extend and improve our development processes worldwide."

"Today, e-business software development is fast paced and ever changing, and the challenge to develop the next generation process is for the taking," said Dr. Jacobson. "Icon has embraced this challenge mind, body and soul and I eagerly anticipate our intellectual exchange as we develop a process that readily adapts to the one constant in the new e-conomy: change."

For more than three decades, Dr. Jacobson has been instrumental in building a wide range of software innovations that have been fundamental to e-business process development. His work on component architecture with Ericsson resulted in the approach adopted in the telecommunication standard SDL, and was the first example of component-based development. Along with Rational colleagues Grady Booch and Jim Rumbaugh, Dr. Jacobson created the Unified Modeling Language (UML), the industry-standard language for specifying, visualizing, constructing and documenting the artifacts of software systems. In 1986, Dr. Jacobson invented use-cases, the standard technique to specify functional requirements and drive user-interface designs, software design and testing. By 1987, Dr. Jacobson integrated components and use-cases into Objectory, the use-case-driven development process, and founded a company of the same name. In the early 1990s, Objectory was further expanded to include business engineering, thereby offering a more complete understanding of the business context to better capture software requirements. Following further software generations, and the merger of Objectory with Rational Software Corporation, this process has evolved into the current RUP solution.

Dr. Jacobson is the principal author of several influential and best-selling books, including Object-Oriented Software Engineering -- A Use-Case-Driven Approach (Computer Language Productivity award winner, 1992); The Object Advantage -- Business Process Reengineering with Object Technology; Software Reuse: Architecture, Process, and Organization for Business Success; and The Unified Software Development Process. His latest book, The Road to the Unified Software Development Process, is scheduled for release later this year.

Under terms of his agreement with Icon Medialab, Dr. Jacobson will retain his role as Vice President of E-Business Development at Rational Software Corporation, the e-development software company. Icon Medialab is Rational's preferred partner in the e-consulting industry.

Icon Medialab, the e-business and Internet professional services firm with the most expansive global reach, provides innovative strategic, creative and technology solutions to clients in the U.S., Europe and Asia. With more than 1,500 employees in 15 countries, Icon Medialab provides competitive advantage to clients through rapid local deployment and customization of best-in-class strategies and applications. Icon Medialab offers expertise across all platforms and devices, including wireless and mobile applications, and has developed and executed award-winning programs for numerous clients, including Coca-Cola, Fujitsu, L'Oreal, Motorola, Nestle, Opel, Siemens, Sony, Tetra Pak, Telia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Volkswagen. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Brussels, Icon Medialab stock is traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (ICON).