CSI Reference Work · Publishing June 2026
Open Process Automation: Architecture, Execution, and Transformation
The comprehensive reference work on open process automation — written for the engineers, system integrators, and decision-makers navigating the most significant structural transition in industrial control in a generation.
About the Book
Industrial control systems have shaped the modern world quietly and continuously — but the architectures that delivered decades of reliability did so through tight integration, vendor-defined platforms, and long lifecycle lock-in. Open Process Automation is the response: not a new product or a single technology, but a redefinition of how control systems are structured.
This book explains what the O-PAS standard defines, what it does not, and what it takes to move from architectural intent to operating reality. It does not assume traditional systems are flawed — it examines, clearly and practically, how open architecture changes engineering, procurement, operations, and economics across the full system lifecycle.
- 20 chapters — architecture through transformation
- Appendices — financial analysis framework, procurement templates, ExxonMobil OPAF case study
- For — engineers, system integrators, and decision-makers
- Available — June 2026, on Amazon
Contents
Twenty chapters, from architecture to transformation
The book moves from the limits of traditional control systems through the O-PAS architecture, project execution, migration, operations, governance, and economics — closing with the market reality and the future of industrial control.
The Limits of Traditional Control Systems
The Illusion of Openness
Why Open Process Automation Exists
The Architecture of O-PAS
The O-PAS Architecture Explained
Information, Execution, and Portability
Project Execution in Open Process Automation
Timeline Transformation and Late Binding
Migration Strategy
Procurement and Contracting in OPA
Operations and Maintenance in an OPA World
Organizational Transformation
Governance and System Management
The Business Case for Open Process Automation
Lifecycle Economics and the Value of Optionality
Failure Modes of Open Process Automation
Vendor Landscape and Market Reality
Advanced Control in an Open Architecture
The Future of Industrial Control Systems
Glossary & Appendices
The CSI OPA Library
The book and the report — two halves of the record.
The reference work and the annual state-of-the-industry report. Together, the definitive written account of open process automation.
State of OPA 2026
The 40-page annual analysis of the open automation landscape — architecture, economics, and execution.
Get the report →OPA Knowledge Hub
A structured guide to the O-PAS standard, migration pathways, and the business case for open architecture.
Open the hub →Publishing June 2026
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