The term process model is used in different contexts. For example, in Business process modeling the enterprise process model is often referred to as the business process model. Process models are core concepts in the discipline of Process Engineering.

Abstraction level for processes

Process models are processes of the same nature that are classified together into a model. Thus, a process model is a description of a process at the type level. Since the process model is at the type level, a process is an instantiation of it. The same process model is used repeatedly for the development of many applications and thus, has many instantiations. One possible use of a process model is to prescribe how things must/should/could be done in contrast to the process itself which is really what happens. A process model is roughly an anticipation of what the process will look like. What the process shall be will be determined during actual system development.