HERMES
Setting up IT projects in municipalities with HERMES
Municipalities have special requirements for IT projects. They must procure publicly, comply with data protection and be accountable to the municipal council and the population. They often lack their own project organisation or IT department. HERMES was developed for public administration and is therefore well suited to municipalities, including smaller ones.
The most important part of a municipal project lies at the beginning, in initiation. This is where it is decided whether and how the project is carried out, before money is spent on execution.
Initiation step by step
- Project initiation order. The project sponsor releases the first phase and commissions the project management. The order records the initial situation, objectives, resources, costs and deadlines for this phase.
- Study. It begins with a situation analysis, objectives and rough requirements. Solution options are then worked out and described in such a way that they can be compared in a traceable manner. Project and operational risks are also identified.
- Legal basis analysis. Which cantonal and communal requirements apply, for example for data protection, archiving or responsibilities?
- Protection needs analysis. Which data is processed, and how well must it be protected? The result later flows into the concept for information security and data protection (ISDP concept).
- Procurement analysis. It clarifies what is to be procured, what the market looks like, which contracts already exist and which procedure is necessary. The analysis is coordinated with the body responsible for procurement.
- Decision on how to proceed. The project sponsor chooses a solution option and decides whether the approach is traditional or agile.
- Execution order. It is the binding agreement between project sponsor and project management for the rest of the project. With its signature, the municipality releases the execution.
HERMES also names reasons not to continue a project after initiation: lack of economic viability, excessive risks, lack of feasibility and legal or political concerns. Discontinuing at this point is cheaper than a failed project.
Which procurement procedure applies
In the cantons that have acceded to it, the Intercantonal Agreement on Public Procurement (IVöB 2019) applies to canton and municipalities. Outside the scope of international treaties, the following thresholds apply, in each case excluding value added tax:
| Procedure | Supplies | Services |
|---|---|---|
| Direct award | below CHF 150,000 | below CHF 150,000 |
| Invitation procedure, as a rule at least three offers | below CHF 250,000 | below CHF 250,000 |
| Open or selective procedure, publication on simap.ch | from CHF 250,000 | from CHF 250,000 |
For municipalities, the limit to the scope of international treaties for supplies and services is CHF 350,000. A contract must not be split up in order to circumvent these thresholds. As a rule, contracts should run for no more than five years. Cantonal implementing enactments may regulate details differently. You should therefore check the requirements of your canton.
Not all cantons are part of it. As at August 2025, 21 cantons have acceded to the IVöB 2019. The canton of Bern is not a member but applies the IVöB 2019 as cantonal law. In the cantons that have not yet acceded, the old IVöB 2001 and cantonal procurement law continue to apply, in some cases with different thresholds and deadlines. The municipalities each follow the law of their canton.
Not to be confused with BöB and VöB. The Federal Act on Public Procurement (BöB) and the associated ordinance (VöB) apply to the procurement bodies of the Confederation, not to municipalities. Both sets of rules have been largely harmonised since 2021, but the thresholds differ. At federal level, the invitation procedure for supplies and services is only possible up to CHF 229,999; from CHF 230,000 a public tender is required. For municipalities, the higher limit of CHF 250,000 under the IVöB applies.
Graubünden: The canton acceded to the IVöB 2019 with effect from 1 October 2022. The cantonal introductory act (EGzIVöB, BR 803.600) replaced the former Submission Act. It additionally stipulates that direct awards based on an exemption are published even outside the scope of international treaties. Appeals are admissible from the invitation procedure upwards.
In HERMES, a public tender is handled in the Procurement module, with tender documentation, evaluation report and contract award. Smaller procurements run via quote requests within project management.
Two points from procurement law are particularly useful for IT projects:
- Quality counts. In principle, the award is assessed against performance-related award criteria, which include price and quality in particular. Criteria such as life-cycle costs or the plausibility of the offer are also possible. For largely standardised services, procurement law provides for exceptions in which the contract can be awarded solely on the lowest price.
- Dialogue for complex undertakings. For complex or novel services, the municipality can specify the solution in a dialogue with the tenderers. Price negotiations are not permitted in this process.
Example from an engagement
For a municipality in the canton of Bern, I analysed the existing IT. Together with the administration and the schools, we worked out a target state, the most important fields of action and an implementation plan. It became apparent that before choosing a system, it had to be clarified who will decide on IT in future and how administration and schools work together.
Recommendations
- Appoint a project sponsor who can decide. A commission alone is not enough. HERMES requires a person.
- First the target state, then the tender. Tendering too early commits you to a solution before the requirements are clear.
- Involve security early. In the reference manual, the Swiss Federal Audit Office recommends bringing those responsible for architecture, the internal control system and security into the project early.
- Involve the users. In a municipality these are the administration, the schools and often the population as well.
- Use HERMES Online. Templates and the sizing help to adapt the effort to the size of the municipality.
Further reading: HERMES project management for SMEs and municipalities · HERMES for small projects · Business consulting Graubünden
Sources: HERMES Reference Manual Project Management, 2022 edition (in German) · Canton of Aargau, public procurement (IVöB 2019) (in German) · Canton of Graubünden, EGzIVöB (BR 803.600) (in German) · Canton of Graubünden, government communication of 11 July 2022 (in German) · Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, explanatory report on accession to the IVöB 2019, August 2025 (in German) · ETH Zurich, guide to procurement under the BöB (in German)