Serena Introduces Latest Version of Requirements Management Solution

Serena Introduces Latest Version of Requirements Management Solution

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

    SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2005--

RTM 5.5 Features New User Interface and Customizable Homepage, Enabling Business and Technical Users to Align Project Requirements with Business Goals
    SERENA Software, Inc. (Nasdaq:SRNA), the largest company solely focused on managing change throughout the application lifecycle, today announced the general availability of Serena(R) RTM(TM) 5.5, the newest release of its high-powered requirements management solution. Version 5.5 features a completely re-designed and highly intuitive Web interface, making it easy for users to specify, analyze and manage requirements across a broad range of projects throughout the application lifecycle. Designed with the business user in mind, the product enables IT management to quickly retrieve critical business information, track requirements and ensure that any changes to the requirements are closely aligned with bottom-line business goals.
    A key component of Serena's Application Framework for Enterprises (SAFE(TM)), RTM 5.5 gives customers even greater visibility, control and predictability over the requirements management process, allowing them to coordinate any changes in the requirements phase with other areas of the application lifecycle.
    "Requirements management is a critical component in providing an integrated, end-to-end application lifecycle management solution. Without an effective requirements management process in place, the overall quality and integrity of an application can be adversely affected given that the entire development lifecycle is governed by the initial requirements defined," said Melissa Webster, Research Director of Application Lifecycle Management at IDC. "Integrating requirements management with change management helps improve the overall software development process by providing the necessary visibility and traceability into cross-functional lifecycle activities."
    RTM 5.5 delivers numerous enhancements to help enterprises track and manage business requirements, while lowering costs and time-to-market. Key new features include:

--	Enhanced GUI: RTM 5.5 allows all users to easily view and track important requirements information throughout the project lifecycle via an intuitive Web interface. This improved view enables customers to more easily perform impact analysis on any requirement changes, leading to increased user productivity by ensuring the right information is at their fingertips.
--	Customizable home page: By allowing users to access and view requirements information based upon their role within the organization, RTM 5.5 ensures better decision making, as users have an accurate knowledge of the status of requirements within the lifecycle.
--	Ability to link objects and manage relationships: With RTM 5.5, users can easily manage a large number of requirements and perform a higher level of analysis (including gap analysis, impact analysis, cost/schedule analysis on ROI, etc). As a result, companies can now improve end-user productivity and their decision-making ability.
--	Better synchronization between requirements management and change management: Version 5.5 provides more detailed information as to the how, what, when and why of a change, making it easier to understand the nature and impact of a change on the project's requirements. By offering a mechanism to guarantee that requirements are complete and that changes to those requirements and related changes can be carried out in a systematic way, RTM 5.5 provides in-depth lifecycle traceability. This also helps companies streamline the development process and improve software quality.

    In addition, RTM 5.5 features central authentication capabilities through LDAP and SSL support to increase security and reduce the administration overhead.
    "Many of our new and existing customers have expressed interest in RTM, as they understand the product's role in ensuring a project's success from the beginning," said Kathy Wells, Director of Product Marketing for IT Process Management, SERENA Software. "By helping optimize an application for each subsequent stage in its lifecycle, RTM provides the pre-production functionality companies require to improve their ability to predict and control the impact that a change within the requirements phase has on the rest of the lifecycle. Version 5.5 extends that functionality to deliver real value to business users who need to justify the feasibility of a project's requirements against critical criteria such as time, cost and overall business impact."

    Availability

    Serena RTM 5.5 is available immediately.

    About Serena

    SERENA Software, Inc. is the largest company solely focused on managing change throughout the application lifecycle. For more than two decades, Serena has enabled companies to automate change to the applications that run their businesses. Serena's Application Framework for Enterprises (SAFE(TM)) is the unique next-generation framework for Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), providing cross-platform, cross-process and cross-organizational support across application lifecycle processes, regardless of platform. The SAFE approach helps streamline development, improve productivity and lower development costs, resulting in a highly efficient enterprise. Serena has more than 15,000 customer sites worldwide, including 49 of the Fortune 50. Serena is headquartered in San Mateo, California and has offices in more than 20 countries. For more information, please visit www.serena.com.

    Serena is a registered trademark of SERENA Software, Inc. RTM and SAFE are trademarks of SERENA Software, Inc. All other products or company names are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
    Copyright (C) 2005 SERENA Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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CONTACT: SERENA Software, Inc. Kelly Clarke, 650-522-6542 kclarke@serena.com or Horn Group, Inc. Marianna Vyridi, 415-905-4021 mvyridi@horngroup.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE PRODUCT SOURCE: SERENA Software, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005