The Information Paradox: Realizing the Business Benefits of Information Technology. Rev. ed.

Charles R. Crawford, a former associate professor of computer science at
York University, is a computer programming and mathematics consultant in
Toronto.

As described in the foreword, the “information paradox” refers to
the fact “that we cannot demonstrate a connection between money spent
on IT [information technology] and business results.” Thorp and his
colleagues argue that useful implementation of computers in business can
be achieved by focusing on the results rather than the connection. In
Part 1, they describe the paradox (including the various explanations
put forward by other authors) and provide an outline of their
recommended planning strategy. In Parts 2 and 3, they present a detailed
description of that strategy. This is followed by a conclusion and an
afterword written for this revised edition. Throughout the book, short
case histories are used to illustrate the approaches.

In their introduction, the authors describe the usual odds of success
for an IT project as “50% at best and more often 20 to 30 percent.”
They say their methods can reduce that risk and bring it “into a
stable relationship with expected rewards.” In other words, their
methods will help you avoid disasters and at the same time give you a
realistic picture of the possible business results.