Connecting the Dots: Towards a Holistic Data Standardization Methodology in Public E-Procurement (HoDS)

The use of isolated ICT solutions in public e-procurement has led to poor interoperability between organizations, processes, and systems. Consequently, data inconsistencies arise, and data cannot be reused throughout the procedure. While data standardization is recognized as a key enabler to overcome these issues, existing approaches often operate in isolation and thus fail to ensure holistic interoperability. This paper harmonizes four complementary methodological components—the European Interoperability Framework (EIF), the Framework for Interoperable Service Architecture Development (FISAD), Requirement Engineering in complex public sector structures, and Simple Semantic Data Modeling in XML (SeMoX)—into a holistic data standardization methodology (HoDS). Using Design Science Research, HoDS is grounded in rigorous and relevant foundations and developed iteratively in coordination with European and German standardization bodies. Emphasizing modularity and interdependency, it supports agile adaptation to dynamically changing requirements. The application of HoDS to the specification of an e-catalogue standard demonstrates its usefulness in practice.