The increasing volume of proteomics data currently being generated by increasingly high-throughput methodologies has led to an increasing need for methods by which such data can be accurately described, stored and exchanged between experimental researchers and data repositories. Work by the Proteomics Standards Initiative of the Human Proteome Organisation has laid the foundation for the development of standards by which experimental design can be described and data exchange facilitated. The progress of these efforts, and the direct benefits already accruing from them, were described at a plenary session of the 3(rd) Annual HUPO congress. Parallel sessions allowed the three work groups to present their progress to interested parties and to collect feedback from groups already implementing the available formats.