Professor T. Brady, Brighton University
“As well as being a fascinating piece of historical writing the book provides food for thought in the supposedly computer literate world of the 21st Century. Spectacular computer disasters such as the London Stock Exchange’s Taurus system have left us with rather jaundiced perceptions about computer projects. Why were Lyons better at implementing computer systems?
One major factor was that before automating business processes the Lyons team ensured that they were well understood and ready for computerisation. Long before the prospect of computers came along, Lyons had established a systems research office with the brief to constantly search out how improvements might be made to the business by changing processes.”