TIBCO Software Inc. Stockholders' Equity (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended							2 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2013	Nov. 30, 2012	Nov. 30, 2011	Apr. 26, 2013 April 2013 Plan	Nov. 30, 2013 April 2013 Plan	Mar. 31, 2012 March 2012	Nov. 30, 2013 March 2012	Nov. 30, 2013 Retained Earnings	Nov. 30, 2012 Retained Earnings	Nov. 30, 2011 Retained Earnings	Nov. 30, 2013 Series A Preferred Stock	Nov. 30, 2013 Restricted Stock	Nov. 30, 2012 Restricted Stock	Jan. 20, 2014 Subsequent Event December 2010 Plan
Stockholders Equity Note [Line Items]
Preferred stock, shares authorized	75,000,000										25,000,000
Preferred stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 0.001
Preferred stock, shares issued	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	0
Stock right exercise ratio	0.001
Common stock, shares authorized	1,200,000,000	1,200,000,000
Common stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Common stock, shares issued	163,169,000	163,698,000
Common stock, shares outstanding	163,169,000	163,698,000
Restricted stock, shares	7,829,000	9,420,000										3,691,000	3,127,000
Preferred stock right, expiration date	March 5, 2014
Percentage of outstanding shares of common stock acquired	15.00%
Preferred stock right, exercise price (usd per share)	$ 70
Preferred stock right triggering threshold	50.00%
Preferred stock right, common stock valuation equivalent	one share of our common stock per Right
Preferred stock right, redemption price (usd per share)	$ 0.001
Stock repurchase program, authorized amount				$ 300,000,000		$ 300,000,000
Stock repurchase program remaining authorized repurchase amount, cancelled							75,800,000
Remaining repurchase amount authorized from new program					240,700,000
Shares repurchased														800,000
Average price per share (in dollars per share)	$ 21.63	$ 28.96	$ 26.55											$ 22.64
Common stock repurchased and retired	$ 130,741,000	$ 220,265,000	$ 194,059,000					$ 97,583,000	$ 85,665,000	$ 99,664,000