130 M. Rohloff 2000 with the E-Business initiative "Generic Business Processes". The primary focus was on the definition of the Supply Chain Management processes based on the Supply Chain Operational Model(SCOR). In the following years the process activities where extended to the Customer Relationship Management and the Product Lifecycle Management. Finally, the activities were taken up and consolidated under the leadership of corporate CIO and the development of a comprehensive reference process house covering all business processes was accomplished [ 19]. The primary bjective was to leverage synergies and cost potentials with a common organization and process coordination, and the definition of reference processes Reference models are increasingly used in industrial practice and leave the area of research([20, 21], see the overview in [22, pp. 393f. ], for reference modeling projects see [23]). In practice reference models for processes have particular relevance, e.g [24, 25, 26, 27]. For the development of the Siemens Reference Process House the Supply Chain Operational Model [24] was a fundamental basis. The Siemens Process Framework(SPF, figure 1), with its binding set of principles and definitions for the overarching management of processes, provides the basis for a uniform implementation of process management within Siemens. The core component of the SPF is the Reference Process House(RPH). It contains the definitions of all processes and is structured into the following process categories Management processes Customer Relationship Management(CRM) Processes apply Chain Management (SCM) Processes Product Life Cycle Management(PLM) Processes · Support Processes reference process definitions are fundamental for process standardization and ide a stable basis for process management. They are subject to a cascaded rollout refinement in the business groups and regions. Incorporating process definitions, guidelines for documentation and modeling of processes, and a binding decision structure for process standardization, the framework is the basis for Configuration and design of specific business processes(e. g. CRM, PLM, SCM and end-to-end business process chains Redesign of processes based on commonly defined standards for to-be processes Common language and common understanding of processes Realization of the potentials identified through- faster implementation of standard processes-alignment of applications-standardization and cost reduction cross matrix organization(synergy effects) Comprehensive benchmarking and best practice sharing The process management methods of the Siemens Process Framework represent a comprehensive set of tools(including ARIS [27D), concepts, conventions, and guidelines which are needed for any implementation and operation of process management in the Siemens organization. With the description of all roles and responsibilities required for effective process management on strategic and operational levels the SPF provides a blueprint for process management organization in the groups and regions. It ensures clear communication, decision, and escalation130 M. Rohloff 2000 with the E-Business initiative “Generic Business Processes”. The primary focus was on the definition of the Supply Chain Management processes based on the Supply Chain Operational Model (SCOR). In the following years the process activities where extended to the Customer Relationship Management and the Product Lifecycle Management. Finally, the activities were taken up and consolidated under the leadership of corporate CIO and the development of a comprehensive reference process house covering all business processes was accomplished [19]. The primary objective was to leverage synergies and cost potentials with a common organization and process coordination, and the definition of reference processes. Reference models are increasingly used in industrial practice and leave the area of research ([20, 21], see the overview in [22, pp. 393f.], for reference modeling projects see [23]). In practice reference models for processes have particular relevance, e.g. [24, 25, 26, 27]. For the development of the Siemens Reference Process House the Supply Chain Operational Model [24] was a fundamental basis. The Siemens Process Framework (SPF, figure 1), with its binding set of principles and definitions for the overarching management of processes, provides the basis for a uniform implementation of process management within Siemens. The core component of the SPF is the Reference Process House (RPH). It contains the definitions of all processes and is structured into the following process categories: • Management Processes • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Processes • Supply Chain Management (SCM) Processes • Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) Processes • Support Processes These reference process definitions are fundamental for process standardization and provide a stable basis for process management. They are subject to a cascaded rollout and refinement in the business groups and regions. Incorporating process definitions, guidelines for documentation and modeling of processes, and a binding decision structure for process standardization, the framework is the basis for: • Configuration and design of specific business processes (e.g. CRM, PLM, SCM) and end-to-end business process chains • Redesign of processes based on commonly defined standards for to-be processes • Common language and common understanding of processes • Realization of the saving potentials identified through - faster implementation of standard processes - alignment of applications - standardization and cost reduction across matrix organization (synergy effects) • Comprehensive benchmarking and best practice sharing. The process management methods of the Siemens Process Framework represent a comprehensive set of tools (including ARIS [27]), concepts, conventions, procedures, and guidelines which are needed for any implementation and operation of process management in the Siemens organization. With the description of all roles and responsibilities required for effective process management on strategic and operational levels the SPF provides a blueprint for process management organization in the groups and regions. It ensures clear communication, decision, and escalation processes