⁶ The term paradigm shift was first used by Thomas Kuhn in his famous book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in 1962, to describe the process and result of a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science. It has since become widely applied to many other realms of human experience and the field of information technology as well. Paradigm shift can also be defined as a significant change from one fundamental view to another. Such changes are usually accompanied by discontinuity.