Basis of Presentation	6 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Basis of Presentation (Details) [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Note 1 - Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements (“financial statements”) include the accounts of Compuware Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company", “Compuware”, “we”, “our” and “us”). All inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, contingencies and results of operations. While management has based their assumptions and estimates on the facts and circumstances existing at September 30, 2011, final amounts may differ from these estimates. In the opinion of management of the Company, the accompanying financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended March 31, 2011 included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2011 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results expected to be achieved for the full fiscal year. Basis for Revenue Recognition The Company derives its revenue from licensing software products; providing maintenance and support services for those products; and rendering web performance, professional and application services. We sometimes enter into arrangements that include both software related deliverables (licensed software products, maintenance services or software related professional services) and non-software deliverables (web performance services, professional services unrelated to our software products or application services). Our web performance services and application services do not qualify as software deliverables because our license grant does not allow the customer the right or capability to take possession of the software. For arrangements that contain both software and non-software deliverables (almost all of these arrangements combine software deliverables with web performance services), in accordance with ASC 605 “Revenue Recognition,” we allocate the arrangement consideration based on fair value using the following hierarchy: vendor specific objective evidence of fair value (“VSOE,” meaning price when sold separately) if available; third-party evidence if VSOE is not available; or best estimated selling price if neither VSOE nor third-party evidence is available. We currently are unable to establish VSOE or third-party evidence for our web performance services or software deliverables. Therefore, we create our best estimate of selling price by evaluating renewal amounts included in a contract, if any, and prices of deliverables sold separately, taking into consideration geography, volume discounts, and transaction size. Once we have allocated the arrangement consideration between software deliverables and non-software deliverables, we recognize revenue as described in the respective software license fees, maintenance and subscription fees, and professional services fees sections. In order for a transaction to be eligible for revenue recognition, the following revenue criteria must be met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. We evaluate collectability based on past customer history, external credit ratings and payment terms within various customer agreements. Software license fees The Company's software license agreements provide our customers with a right to use our software perpetually (perpetual licenses) or during a defined term (time-based licenses). Assuming all revenue recognition criteria are met, perpetual license fee revenue is recognized using the residual method, under which the fair value, based on VSOE, of all undelivered elements of the agreement (i.e., maintenance and software related professional services) is deferred. VSOE is based on rates charged for maintenance and professional services when sold separately. The remaining portion of the fee is recognized as license fee revenue upon delivery of the products. For revenue arrangements where there is a lack of VSOE for any undelivered elements, license fee revenue is deferred and recognized upon delivery of those elements or when VSOE can be established. When maintenance or software related professional services are the only undelivered elements, the license fee revenue is recognized on a ratable basis over the longer of the maintenance term or the period the software related professional services are expected to be performed. Such transactions include time-based licenses and certain unlimited capacity licenses, as the Company does not sell maintenance for these separately and therefore cannot establish VSOE for the undelivered elements in these arrangements. In order to comply with SEC Regulation S-X, Rule 5-03(b), which requires product, services and other categories of revenue to be displayed separately on the income statement, the Company separates the license fee, maintenance fee and software related professional services fee (which is included in professional services fees) associated with these types of arrangements based on its determination of fair value. The Company applies VSOE for maintenance related to perpetual license transactions and stand alone software related professional services arrangements as a reasonable and consistent approximation of fair value to separate license fee, maintenance fee and software related professional services fee revenue for income statement classification purposes. The Company offers flexibility to customers purchasing licenses for its products and related maintenance. Terms of these transactions range from standard perpetual license sales that include one year of maintenance to large multi-year (generally two to five years), multi-product contracts. The Company allows deferred payment terms with installments collectible over the term of the contract. Based on the Company's successful collection history for deferred payments, license fees (net of any financing fees) are generally recognized as revenue as discussed above. In certain transactions where it cannot be concluded that the fee is fixed or determinable due to the nature of the deferred payment terms, the Company recognizes revenue as payments become due. Financing fees are recognized as interest income over the term of the related receivable. Maintenance and subscription fees The Company's maintenance arrangements allow customers to receive technical support and advice, including problem resolution services and assistance in product installation, error corrections and any product enhancements released during the maintenance period. The first year of maintenance is generally included with all license agreements. Maintenance fees are recognized ratably over the term of the maintenance arrangements, which may range from one to five years. Subscription fees relate to arrangements that permit our customers to access and utilize our web performance services. We evaluate collectability based on past customer history, external credit ratings and payment terms within various customer agreements. Subscription fees are deferred upon contract execution and are recognized ratably over the term of the subscription. Professional services fees The Company provides a broad range of IT services for mainframe, distributed, web and mobile environments, including mobile computing application development and integration, package software customization, cloud computing consulting, development and integration of legacy systems, IT portfolio management services, enterprise legacy modernization services and application performance management. The Company also offers implementation, consulting and training services in tandem with the Company's software solutions offerings, which are referred to as software related professional services. Professional services fees are generally based on hourly or daily rates. Revenues from professional services are recognized in the period the services are performed provided that collection of the related receivable is reasonably assured. For development services rendered under fixed-price contracts, revenues are recognized using the percentage of completion method and if it is determined that costs will exceed revenue, the expected loss is recorded at the time the loss becomes apparent. Our application services fees are combined with professional services fees in our consolidated statement of operations and consist of fees for our on-demand software and other services. The arrangements do not provide customers the right to take possession of the software at any time, nor do the arrangements contain rights of return. Many of our application services fee contracts include a project fee and ongoing software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) operations (recurring) fees. Projects that have stand-alone value (e.g. other vendors provide similar services), qualify as a separate element of accounting. Therefore, the project fee is recognized as delivered. For those projects that do not have stand-alone value, the revenue is deferred and recognized over the expected period the customer will receive benefit. The recurring fees are recognized over the applicable service period. Deferred revenue Deferred revenue consists primarily of billed and unbilled maintenance fees related to the future service period of maintenance arrangements in effect at the reporting date. Deferred license and subscription services are also included in deferred revenue for those arrangements that are being recognized on a ratable basis. Sales commission costs that directly relate to revenue transactions that are deferred are recorded as “prepaid expenses and other current assets” or non-current “other assets,” as applicable, in the condensed consolidated balance sheets and recognized as “sales and marketing” expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations over the revenue recognition period of the related customer contracts. Research and development Research and development (“R&D”) costs include primarily the cost of programming personnel and amounted to $21.1 million and $18.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $39.6 million and $35.4 million for the six months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. R&D costs related to our software products and web performance services network are reported as “technology development and support” in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and for our application services network, the costs are reported as “cost of professional services”. Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities and net operating loss and credit carryforwards using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company records net deferred tax assets to the extent it believes these assets will more likely than not be realized. These deferred tax assets are subject to periodic assessments as to recoverability and if it is determined that it is more likely than not that the benefits will not be realized, valuation allowances are recorded which would increase the provision for income taxes. In making such determination, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and recent financial operations. Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are included in the income tax provision. The Company's effective tax rate for the six months ended September 30, 2011 was 32.5% compared to 40.5% for the six months ended September 30, 2010. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily due to legislation enacted in the State of Michigan in May 2011 that amended the Income Tax Act to implement a comprehensive set of tax changes effective January 2012. One part of the legislation contains provisions that replaced the current Michigan Business Tax (“MBT”) with a new corporate income tax. Certain credits allowed under the MBT, including the Brownfield Redevelopment (“Brownfield”) tax credit, will continue to be effective under the revised Income Tax Act. This allows the Company to reduce its future tax liability for the duration of the credit carryforward period. The Brownfield tax credit was originally awarded to the Company in 2003 when it moved its headquarters to the City of Detroit. Upon enactment of the MBT in 2008, the Company established a deferred tax asset for the Brownfield tax credits, assessed the ability to utilize such credits prior to expiration and recorded a valuation allowance to reduce the carrying value of the Brownfield deferred tax asset to the more likely than not realizable value. As a result of the May 2011 legislation, the valuation allowance associated with the Brownfield deferred tax asset was reversed resulting in a $5.0 million reduction to the Company's income tax provision for the six months ended September 30, 2011. The decrease was further impacted by a $2.2 million increase to the valuation allowance recorded during the six months ended September 30, 2010 to reduce the carrying value of the Brownfield deferred tax asset to the more likely than not realizable value based upon our analysis and the then existing tax laws. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In June 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2011-5, “Presentation of Comprehensive Income.” The ASU disallows the presentation of the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. Further, the ASU requires that the statement of net income and the statement of other comprehensive income be presented consecutively within the financial statements, and also that reclassification adjustments between net income and other comprehensive income be included on the face of the financial statements. For public companies, the ASU should be applied retrospectively for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We will adopt the requirements of this ASU starting in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-04, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820).” The amendments in this ASU change the wording used to describe the requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements. For public companies, the ASU should be applied prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We are currently evaluating the impact of this standard on our consolidated financial statements and plan to adopt this ASU in fiscal 2013. In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350).” The amendments in this ASU allow an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount before performing the first step of the two-step impairment test. If it is determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the entity must perform additional impairment testing. Otherwise, performing the two-step impairment test is not necessary. This ASU is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. We are evaluating the impact this will have on our assessment of goodwill and considering whether we will early adopt this ASU. This ASU is required to be adopted in fiscal 2013.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements (“financial statements”) include the accounts of Compuware Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company", “Compuware”, “we”, “our” and “us”). All inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, contingencies and results of operations. While management has based their assumptions and estimates on the facts and circumstances existing at September 30, 2011, final amounts may differ from these estimates.

In the opinion of management of the Company, the accompanying financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended March 31, 2011 included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2011 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results expected to be achieved for the full fiscal year.

Basis for Revenue Recognition

The Company derives its revenue from licensing software products; providing maintenance and support services for those products; and rendering web performance, professional and application services.

We sometimes enter into arrangements that include both software related deliverables (licensed software products, maintenance services or software related professional services) and non-software deliverables (web performance services, professional services unrelated to our software products or application services). Our web performance services and application services do not qualify as software deliverables because our license grant does not allow the customer the right or capability to take possession of the software. For arrangements that contain both software and non-software deliverables (almost all of these arrangements combine software deliverables with web performance services), in accordance with ASC 605 “Revenue Recognition,” we allocate the arrangement consideration based on fair value using the following hierarchy: vendor specific objective evidence of fair value (“VSOE,” meaning price when sold separately) if available; third-party evidence if VSOE is not available; or best estimated selling price if neither VSOE nor third-party evidence is available. We currently are unable to establish VSOE or third-party evidence for our web performance services or software deliverables. Therefore, we create our best estimate of selling price by evaluating renewal amounts included in a contract, if any, and prices of deliverables sold separately, taking into consideration geography, volume discounts, and transaction size.

Once we have allocated the arrangement consideration between software deliverables and non-software deliverables, we recognize revenue as described in the respective software license fees, maintenance and subscription fees, and professional services fees sections.

In order for a transaction to be eligible for revenue recognition, the following revenue criteria must be met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. We evaluate collectability based on past customer history, external credit ratings and payment terms within various customer agreements.

Software license fees

The Company's software license agreements provide our customers with a right to use our software perpetually (perpetual licenses) or during a defined term (time-based licenses).

Assuming all revenue recognition criteria are met, perpetual license fee revenue is recognized using the residual method, under which the fair value, based on VSOE, of all undelivered elements of the agreement (i.e., maintenance and software related professional services) is deferred. VSOE is based on rates charged for maintenance and professional services when sold separately. The remaining portion of the fee is recognized as license fee revenue upon delivery of the products.

For revenue arrangements where there is a lack of VSOE for any undelivered elements, license fee revenue is deferred and recognized upon delivery of those elements or when VSOE can be established. When maintenance or software related professional services are the only undelivered elements, the license fee revenue is recognized on a ratable basis over the longer of the maintenance term or the period the software related professional services are expected to be performed. Such transactions include time-based licenses and certain unlimited capacity licenses, as the Company does not sell maintenance for these separately and therefore cannot establish VSOE for the undelivered elements in these arrangements. In order to comply with SEC Regulation S-X, Rule 5-03(b), which requires product, services and other categories of revenue to be displayed separately on the income statement, the Company separates the license fee, maintenance fee and software related professional services fee (which is included in professional services fees) associated with these types of arrangements based on its determination of fair value. The Company applies VSOE for maintenance related to perpetual license transactions and stand alone software related professional services arrangements as a reasonable and consistent approximation of fair value to separate license fee, maintenance fee and software related professional services fee revenue for income statement classification purposes.

The Company offers flexibility to customers purchasing licenses for its products and related maintenance. Terms of these transactions range from standard perpetual license sales that include one year of maintenance to large multi-year (generally two to five years), multi-product contracts. The Company allows deferred payment terms with installments collectible over the term of the contract. Based on the Company's successful collection history for deferred payments, license fees (net of any financing fees) are generally recognized as revenue as discussed above. In certain transactions where it cannot be concluded that the fee is fixed or determinable due to the nature of the deferred payment terms, the Company recognizes revenue as payments become due. Financing fees are recognized as interest income over the term of the related receivable.

Maintenance and subscription fees

The Company's maintenance arrangements allow customers to receive technical support and advice, including problem resolution services and assistance in product installation, error corrections and any product enhancements released during the maintenance period. The first year of maintenance is generally included with all license agreements. Maintenance fees are recognized ratably over the term of the maintenance arrangements, which may range from one to five years.

Subscription fees relate to arrangements that permit our customers to access and utilize our web performance services. We evaluate collectability based on past customer history, external credit ratings and payment terms within various customer agreements. Subscription fees are deferred upon contract execution and are recognized ratably over the term of the subscription.

Professional services fees

The Company provides a broad range of IT services for mainframe, distributed, web and mobile environments, including mobile computing application development and integration, package software customization, cloud computing consulting, development and integration of legacy systems, IT portfolio management services, enterprise legacy modernization services and application performance management. The Company also offers implementation, consulting and training services in tandem with the Company's software solutions offerings, which are referred to as software related professional services.

Professional services fees are generally based on hourly or daily rates. Revenues from professional services are recognized in the period the services are performed provided that collection of the related receivable is reasonably assured. For development services rendered under fixed-price contracts, revenues are recognized using the percentage of completion method and if it is determined that costs will exceed revenue, the expected loss is recorded at the time the loss becomes apparent.

Our application services fees are combined with professional services fees in our consolidated statement of operations and consist of fees for our on-demand software and other services. The arrangements do not provide customers the right to take possession of the software at any time, nor do the arrangements contain rights of return. Many of our application services fee contracts include a project fee and ongoing software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) operations (recurring) fees. Projects that have stand-alone value (e.g. other vendors provide similar services), qualify as a separate element of accounting. Therefore, the project fee is recognized as delivered. For those projects that do not have stand-alone value, the revenue is deferred and recognized over the expected period the customer will receive benefit. The recurring fees are recognized over the applicable service period.

Deferred revenue

Deferred revenue consists primarily of billed and unbilled maintenance fees related to the future service period of maintenance arrangements in effect at the reporting date. Deferred license and subscription services are also included in deferred revenue for those arrangements that are being recognized on a ratable basis. Sales commission costs that directly relate to revenue transactions that are deferred are recorded as “prepaid expenses and other current assets” or non-current “other assets,” as applicable, in the condensed consolidated balance sheets and recognized as “sales and marketing” expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations over the revenue recognition period of the related customer contracts.

Research and development

Research and development (“R&D”) costs include primarily the cost of programming personnel and amounted to $21.1 million and $18.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $39.6 million and $35.4 million for the six months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. R&D costs related to our software products and web performance services network are reported as “technology development and support” in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and for our application services network, the costs are reported as “cost of professional services”.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities and net operating loss and credit carryforwards using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company records net deferred tax assets to the extent it believes these assets will more likely than not be realized. These deferred tax assets are subject to periodic assessments as to recoverability and if it is determined that it is more likely than not that the benefits will not be realized, valuation allowances are recorded which would increase the provision for income taxes. In making such determination, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and recent financial operations.

Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are included in the income tax provision.

The Company's effective tax rate for the six months ended September 30, 2011 was 32.5% compared to 40.5% for the six months ended September 30, 2010. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily due to legislation enacted in the State of Michigan in May 2011 that amended the Income Tax Act to implement a comprehensive set of tax changes effective January 2012. One part of the legislation contains provisions that replaced the current Michigan Business Tax (“MBT”) with a new corporate income tax. Certain credits allowed under the MBT, including the Brownfield Redevelopment (“Brownfield”) tax credit, will continue to be effective under the revised Income Tax Act. This allows the Company to reduce its future tax liability for the duration of the credit carryforward period. The Brownfield tax credit was originally awarded to the Company in 2003 when it moved its headquarters to the City of Detroit. Upon enactment of the MBT in 2008, the Company established a deferred tax asset for the Brownfield tax credits, assessed the ability to utilize such credits prior to expiration and recorded a valuation allowance to reduce the carrying value of the Brownfield deferred tax asset to the more likely than not realizable value. As a result of the May 2011 legislation, the valuation allowance associated with the Brownfield deferred tax asset was reversed resulting in a $5.0 million reduction to the Company's income tax provision for the six months ended September 30, 2011. The decrease was further impacted by a $2.2 million increase to the valuation allowance recorded during the six months ended September 30, 2010 to reduce the carrying value of the Brownfield deferred tax asset to the more likely than not realizable value based upon our analysis and the then existing tax laws.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2011-5, “Presentation of Comprehensive Income.” The ASU disallows the presentation of the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. Further, the ASU requires that the statement of net income and the statement of other comprehensive income be presented consecutively within the financial statements, and also that reclassification adjustments between net income and other comprehensive income be included on the face of the financial statements. For public companies, the ASU should be applied retrospectively for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We will adopt the requirements of this ASU starting in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-04, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820).” The amendments in this ASU change the wording used to describe the requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements. For public companies, the ASU should be applied prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We are currently evaluating the impact of this standard on our consolidated financial statements and plan to adopt this ASU in fiscal 2013.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350).” The amendments in this ASU allow an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount before performing the first step of the two-step impairment test. If it is determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the entity must perform additional impairment testing. Otherwise, performing the two-step impairment test is not necessary. This ASU is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. We are evaluating the impact this will have on our assessment of goodwill and considering whether we will early adopt this ASU. This ASU is required to be adopted in fiscal 2013.