Systems and methods of multidimensional software management

1. A computer implemented software management method for determining whether a modification to software is compliant with best practices, the method comprising:

receiving information associated with a dependency between an element of a first dimension of software management and an element of a second dimension of software management, the dependency specifying a relationship, in quantifiable terms, between the element of the first dimension and the element of the second dimension;

quantifying an effect of the modification on the element of the first dimension;

quantifying, as a function of the dependency, an effect of the modification on the element of the second dimension;

generating a proposal on the modification based on the quantified effect on the element of the first dimension and the quantified effect of the modification on the element of the second dimension; and

automatically implementing the proposal when the proposal meets the best practices.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the element of the first dimension is one of a plurality of elements associated with the first dimension, and the element of the second dimension is one of a plurality of elements associated with the second dimension.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving information comprises receiving information associated with a plurality of dependencies between elements of a plurality of software management dimensions.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of software management dimensions comprises a software management objective dimension, a software management information dimension, and a software management activity dimension.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating, as a function of the dependency, a report associated with the modification to the software.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating an alert when the proposal does not meet the best practices.

7. A computer implemented software management method executed by a processor, the method comprising:

storing best practices reflecting a set of dimensions associated with software management operations;

analyzing software using the best practices to identify management practices in managing the software that do not meet the best practices, wherein analyzing software comprises:

analyzing a dependency specifying a relationship, in quantifiable terms, between (i) an element of a first dimension of the set of dimensions associated with the software management operations and (ii) an element of a second dimension of the set of dimensions associated with the software management operations, and

storing a quantification of the elements based on the best practices;

updating the best practices based on the analysis; and

generating an alert based on the identification of management practices used in managing the software which do not meet the best practices.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein updating the best practices comprises updating the dependency according to the analysis.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising automatically implementing the management practices.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the set of dimensions comprises a software management objective dimension, a software management information dimension, and a software management activity dimension.

11. A system for determining whether a modification to software is compliant with best practices comprising:

a processor for executing one or more components;

a component for receiving information associated with a dependency between an element of a first dimension of software management and an element of a second dimension of software management, the dependency specifying a relationship, in quantifiable terms, between the element of the first dimension and the element of the second dimension;

a component for quantifying an effect of the modification on the element of the first dimension;

a component for quantifying, as a function of the dependency, an effect of the modification on the element of the second dimension;

a component for generating a proposal on the modification based on the quantified effect on the element of the first dimension and the quantified effect of the modification on the element of the second dimension; and

a component for automatically implementing the proposal when the proposal meets the best practices.

12. A system comprising:

a storage device storing best practices reflecting a set of dimensions associated with software management operations; and

a processor configured to:

analyze software using the best practices to identify management practices in managing the software that do not meet the best practices, wherein analyzing software comprises:

analyzing a dependency specifying a relationship, in quantifiable terms, between (i) an element of a first dimension of the set of dimensions associated with the software management operations and (ii) an element of a second dimension of the set of dimensions associated with the software management operations, and

storing a quantification of the elements based on the best practices;

update the best practices based on the analysis; and

generate an alert based on the identification of management practices used in managing the software which do not meet the best practices.

13. A computer-readable storage medium for configuring a processor to execute a method for determining whether a modification to software is compliant with best practices, the method comprising:

receiving information associated with a dependency between an element of a first dimension of software management and an element of a second dimension of software management, the dependency specifying a relationship between the element of the first dimension and the element of the second dimension in quantifiable terms;

quantifying an effect of the modification on the element of the first dimension;

quantifying, as a function of the dependency, an effect of the modification on the element of the second dimension;

generating a proposal on the modification based on the quantified effect on the element of the first dimension and the quantified effect of the modification on the element of the second dimension; and

automatically implementing the proposal when the proposal meets the best practices.

14. A computer-readable storage medium for configuring a processor to execute a method comprising:

storing best practices reflecting a set of dimensions associated with software management operations;

analyzing software using the best practices to identify management practices in managing the software that do not meet the best practices, wherein analyzing software comprises:

analyzing a dependency specifying a relationship, in quantifiable terms, between (i) an element of a first dimension of the set of dimensions associated with the software management operations and (ii) an element of a second dimension of the set of dimensions associated with the software management operations, and

storing a quantification of the elements based on the best practices;

updating the best practices based on the analysis; and

generating an alert based on the identification of management practices used in managing the software which do not meet the best practices.