The new Dimension 10 tool provides an integrated process model and data respository for requirements, change, configuration and build management to allow companies better visibility and control of changes made during different phases of the application life cycle, said Matt DiMaria, Serena's vice president of worldwide marketing.

"The combination of regulatory compliance demands, outsourcing and the general demand for IT organizations to provide more with less is driving customers to put process improvement in place in IT," DiMaria said. "[Dimension 10] encompasses a single process framework that is ... traceable and auditable.

Jim Hendricks, manager of quality and process improvement at AutoZone Inc., said he plans to begin testing Dimension 10 by the end of the month and expects to have it in production at the Memphis-based auto parts retailer by March. The integration of requirements management, change management and process control will allow him to add accuracy and efficiency to development work, he said. The company now uses paper or e-mail for requirements management.

"All these disciplines don't work in their own separate worlds -- they all have to interoperate to get efficiency," he said. "It will allow developers to see exactly what they are coding for instead of using e-mail or paper."

In addition, the company's auditors are pushing the IT development department to be able to show "cradle to grave" controls of changes made during application development, according to Hendricks. Auditors want to know if final applications meet original requirements and how that was verified.