A reference model—in systems, enterprise, and software engineering—is an abstract framework or domain-specific ontology consisting of an interlinked set of clearly defined concepts produced by an expert or body of experts to encourage clear communication.
According to OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) a reference model is "an abstract framework for understanding significant relationships among the entities of some environment, and for the development of consistent standards or specifications supporting that environment.
A reference model is based on a small number of unifying concepts and may be used as a basis for education and explaining standards to a non-specialist.
That allows a senior manager to hold each of their team members responsible for producing high quality results.
For example, if a reference model describes computer systems that help track contacts between a business and their customers, then a reference model can be used by a business to decide which of five different software products to purchase, based on their needs.
A reference model, in this example, could be used to compare how well each of the candidate solutions can be configured to meet the needs of a particular business process.