17. September 2026 By Seta Boroyan and Dennis Woyke
Transparent procurement with added value
Few words cause as much groaning in public administration projects as "tender": countless forms, tight deadlines, and the constant risk of an appeal. Yet, the decision between success and failure is made long before publication on a procurement platform. It starts with the requirements. Understanding requirements engineering and procurement as two independent yet closely linked phases avoids costly corrections later on while creating transparency for committees and the market. Using a proven two-phase model, this article shows how to achieve this in practice.
Two phases, one goal
Public sector projects rarely fail because of technology. More often, the culprits are unclear requirements, contestable award decisions, or simply procuring a solution that nobody actually needed. You can only avoid this with an approach that achieves two things at once: capturing robust technical requirements and offering a legally compliant, traceable process.
This is where our two-phase model comes in: one that has proven itself in numerous projects. Phase 1 represents requirements engineering, while Phase 2 covers the actual procurement. Both build on each other but follow different roles and logics. Ultimately, this clean separation ensures transparency – both internally and for the market.
Anyone in public administration working with the HERMES project methodology will immediately recognize the connection: the steps of the concept phase largely align with this two-phase model.
Seven stages, one end-to-end process
Before we look at both phases in detail, it is worth taking a look at the big picture. From the initial idea to the signed contract, a procurement typically goes through seven stages:
- Needs analysis: Sharpening the baseline and goals together with the business departments
- Market analysis: Aligning the identified needs realistically with the market offering
- Specifications: Recording requirements in a structured and verifiable manner
- Choice of procedure: Determining the appropriate procurement procedure according to BöB/VöB
- Publication: Publishing the tender in a legally compliant manner
- Evaluation and scoring: Evaluating incoming bids based on clear criteria
- Award: Justifying and communicating the award decision
- Handover and contract: Handing over to implementation and finalizing the contract.
Not every organization needs external support for all seven stages. However, it is crucial to document the transitions, for example, in a procurement analysis when using HERMES. This is the only way to ensure that months later, it remains clear who made which decision and on what basis.
The following overview combines both phases, including their stages and deliverables, into a single diagram.
The procurement process in two phases, showing the seven stages and their respective deliverables. Prior involvement under Art. 11 BöB separates consulting and implementation throughout the entire process.
Phase 1: requirements engineering lays the foundation
Before even thinking about a tender, one question must be answered: What do we actually need? At the project kickoff, we clarify the project setup and governance, and align the scope, approach, and schedule with the stakeholders.
Next, we gather the technical requirements right where they originate: in workshops with the people who will actually use the solution. In parallel, we analyze existing systems and processes.
The number of workshops required depends on the number of business departments and the complexity of the processes; five to ten focused sessions are not uncommon. The effort is well worth it, as anything thoroughly developed here will not require tedious adjustments during the tendering phase.
The results yield a clear target vision and a structured requirements catalog, supplemented by non-functional requirements and a robust risk assessment. In particular, integration into the existing system landscape and future operations must be clarified early on.
At the end of this phase, we document the materials – in three languages (German, French, and Italian) if required – and present the results to the responsible committees.
At the end of Phase 1, three tangible deliverables are ready: a planning document outlining the scope and approach, a structured requirements catalog, and a solution concept including presentation materials.
Phase 2: procurement according to BÖB/VÖB
Only now does the procurement process in the narrower sense begin. It starts with the procurement strategy, governance questions, and the requirements catalog from Phase 1. This catalog is adopted directly, not reinvented.
In the next step, we translate the requirements into tender documents and define eligibility, technical, and award criteria that truly match the identified needs.
A common stumbling block is overly narrow eligibility criteria. They unnecessarily restrict the pool of bidders and can easily be challenged as discriminatory in the event of an appeal.
Once the tender is published on the central platform simap.ch, we handle bidder questions and evaluate the incoming bids both formally and substantively.
The process concludes with the award: the decision is prepared, the contract is signed, and a final report is compiled and presented.
Phase 2 also delivers concrete results: a procurement plan with strategy and timeline, complete tender documents, and an award report with final documentation.
Why separation creates transparency and value
This division is not just a methodological exercise. It stems directly from procurement law. Art. 11 BöB regulates prior involvement: anyone who contributes to the content of a tender's preparation is generally excluded from the subsequent award. Participation remains possible only if all compiled information is made accessible to all bidders.
In practice, this means that requirements consulting and subsequent implementation must remain structurally separate. To be credible, a consultant must act as a neutral guide through both phases, without secretly writing their own solution into the requirements catalog.
If this line is blurred, there is a risk of appeals before the Federal Administrative Court or cantonal administrative courts. Such proceedings can easily set a project back by months and often blow the calculated budget.
The added value of this neutrality is therefore tangible: requirements arise from business needs, not from a product catalog. The process withstands appeals because every decision is justified and documented. All bidders work with the same level of information.
Five recommendations for your next procurement project
- Requirements first, tender second. Do not start with the template of an old tender, but with your own requirements gathering. This takes time initially, but pays off in highly accurate criteria.
- Clarify roles early. Define who is allowed to consult and who is allowed to bid later, and put it in writing. At the same time, determine who will handle the technical and functional evaluation of the bids. Anyone eyeing implementation while acting as a consultant should disclose this before preparation begins.
- Plan resources realistically. Ensure that key personnel are available during the critical evaluation phase. A clean procurement process requires time, resources, and a realistic plan; underestimating this risks the entire procedure.
- Engage committees, do not surprise them. Sharing intermediate results continuously saves you from tedious debates about criteria at the end. Often, a brief summary after each workshop series is enough.
- Documenting as a tool, not a chore. A clean paper trail protects you in the event of an appeal and shortens any internal discussion about decisions made. Informal agreements should also be minuted, not just formal resolutions. In a dialogue procedure, this documentation is mandatory anyway and an integral part of the process.
Ultimately, what matters is a procurement that delivers what the tender promises: legally compliant, transparent, and with a result that meets the actual needs of the business departments.
Experience in procurement, a structured approach – with or without the HERMES framework – and professional requirements engineering are the key levers for this. Those who cleanly separate these disciplines yet interlock them closely turn procurement into more than just a box-ticking exercise: they create real value for the organization.
This is exactly how adesso supports public sector clients, from the initial needs analysis to the signed contract.
