Ask your Barber! What a Haircut reveals about Pricing Models in Software Validation
A lighthearted GxPert contribution by Dr. Rudi Herterich, founder and managing director of DHC
There are moments when important insights emerge not in the professional environment or expert discussions, but in everyday life. Here is a good example 😊.
Fixed Price versus Quality?
Recently, I was once again at my trusted barber. For decades, he has been cutting our entire family’s hair, precisely, reliably, and to our complete satisfaction. We got to talking about prices, and I asked him what he would think if, instead of the usual flat rate, I paid him one euro per started minute.
His answer came without hesitation:
“Then I would cut more slowly!”
I had to laugh, but it was actually a remarkably honest statement. And it got me thinking.
Does a flat rate lead to lower quality?
In my case: certainly not. I know his standard and I trust him.
My barber’s spontaneous incomprehension, this clear, almost instinctive reflex that per-minute billing would be completely illogical, honestly surprised me. And at the same time, it vividly demonstrated one thing: If someone in a skilled trade immediately recognizes that value and time are not proportional, why is this step so difficult for us in the regulated IT world?
What a Visit to the Hairdresser Taught Me
I thought about our conversation for a long time, and it showed me that we at DHC need to explain even more clearly what advantage Value Based Validation actually brings to our customers. Many companies in the life sciences have been billing by “Time and Material” for years, often out of habit, even though they themselves have little transparency about how much actual value the invested time generates.
But this is exactly where the core of a modern offering lies:
It is not the time consumed that counts but the delivered result.
At the barber, I pay for a good haircut, not for how long it takes.
Why should a validation report, a test plan, or a risk assessment be treated differently?
I realized that Value Based Validation is not an abstract pricing model but a genuine value proposition:
- Clear costs instead of uncertain effort estimates
- Transparency about the expected deliverables
- Assurance that the result is delivered completely and ready for acceptance
- Higher quality because the focus is on output, not on hourly accounts
- Efficiency through automation instead of incentives for slowness
This insight showed me that we have not just introduced a new pricing model; we must help our customers understand the added value behind it and develop trust in this model.
And that is precisely the task of a modern validation partner.
Value Based Validation – Why It Is Time for a Rethink
Why do companies in the life sciences still pay on a time-and-materials basis for computer system validation? Is it because they believe time pressure could compromise quality? Or are we simply clinging to business models that we have considered “normal” for decades?
Looking more closely, there is no rational reason why the validation of a system should still be paid for by the hour. Effort depends on far too many internal factors: qualifications, organization, experience, the degree of automation or simply the day-to-day performance of the people involved.
The result for the customer?
A price that says more about the project setup than about the actual value of the service delivered.
Value Based Validation reverses this logic. It poses a simple but fundamental question:
What is the result worth, rather than: how long did someone work on it?
Particularly in the life sciences industry, where validation is of central importance for compliance, safety and product quality, this approach offers major advantages:
- Greater planning certainty: Costs are fixed before the service begins.
- Better quality: The focus is on deliverable acceptance, not on time tracking.
- Less bureaucracy: Both the procurement and the billing process become significantly simpler, faster and more cost-effective.
- More trust: The model is oriented toward value, not the complexity of internal effort.
- Fewer friction losses: No discussions about hours, hourly rates or post-calculations.
And how do you convince customers in a traditionally rather conservative industry of this approach?
By showing them that Value Based Validation is not a risk, but a risk reduction. It becomes:
- not more expensive, but more predictable;
- not less certain, but more transparent;
- not faster, but better.
Especially in an era when release cycles are getting shorter, IT landscapes more complex and skilled professionals scarcer, a model based on results rather than effort is not just modern: it is necessary.
A New Way of Thinking – Let us Talk About It
Perhaps this approach still seems unfamiliar and you are skeptical about the idea. And perhaps you are even asking yourself: “Is that even possible with validation?”
I promise you: Yes, it is possible, and it works better than you think.😉
Dr. Rudi Herterich
Founder & Managing Director, DHC
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