Read the case below and answers the following questions: 1. Explain the problem that Guard-Ex is trying to solve in the case? 2. In which stage of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is the GX420 project at Guard-Ex currently in? Provide support for your response. 3. Explain 3 alternative solutions that Guard-Ex should consider for solving their current problem presented in the case 4. Present your recommended solution with supporting analysis regarding the best ‘next steps’ for Guard-Ex going forward, including a high-level implementation plan GUARD-EX CORP. – THE RACE IN THE CANNABIS SCREENING DEVICE INDUSTRY: WILL GUARD-EX BE A WINNER? As Dastiger Khan, CEO of Guard-Ex Corp., sat in his office on a chilly Monday, February 4, 2019 morning sipping his cup of steeped tea he wondered what strategy Guard-Ex should implement to achieve the firm’s goal of becoming a global leader in the emerging marijuana screening device industry. Guard-Ex was part of the Waterloo Accelerator Center’s JumpStart program located in the Laurier Launchpad incubator within the Schlegel Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario Canada. The firm had designed and developed their own GX420 cannabis screening device. Khan and his team were meeting that morning to prepare for an important presentation with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police the following week. Khan urgently needed to finalize an effective implementation strategy for their presentation as he knew that the Association was expecting to learn how the device would be implemented in the field. Khan reflected upon an article he read recently that indicated almost 70% of most IT projects fail, and many of those project failures were due to poor implementation strategies. He did not want the GX420 to become another statistic. The Guard-Ex team was aware that the implementation phase of the GX420 project would be the most delicate phase of the project, and that their next steps were likely to determine whether the GX420 would become readily adopted in the field and position the firm as a leader in the industry or become a victim of the factor of substitution. The race was on…. Khan knew that his firm had developed leading-edge technology that would be in high demand within the marketplace since marijuana was now legalized in Canada. Many serious questions had been raised by the public, politicians, police, and private organizations regarding how the now-legalized use of weed was going to be monitored. Khan believed Guard-Ex had the answer, and he was not alone. Investors, Police Chiefs, logistic executives all agreed the GX420 was an innovative and effective solution to a growing impairment screening problem in society. “Considering that impaired driving remains a leading criminal cause of death in Canada, there is a strong incentive to both enforce and deter impaired driving on our roadways,” said Bryan Larkin, Chief of Waterloo Regional Police Service. “I am very excited by the Guard-Ex team and their passionate commitment to the modernization of roadside impairment screening. They are poised to become another shining example of a Waterloo Region-based company that seeks to leverage cutting-edge technology, creative innovation and community collaboration to help improve safety and well-being in our society.”, said Chief Larkin.9 Said Laura Allan, Executive Director, Schlegel Center for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, “This isn’t just an idea that’s financially great, it’s helping solve a crucial social problem. The response they’ve (Guard-Ex) gotten from police chiefs, police forces, politicians and private companies has been unanimous. They (Guard-Ex) are on the right path. Guard-Ex was in the later stages of development and testing for their GX420 mobile impairment screening device. Khan was growing anxious as he was still unsure of the optimum implementation strategy the firm should use to launch the GX420… and time was running out. Competition in this space was fierce. Clients were evaluating options and were eager to make decisions to solve the cannabis impairment screening problem. He knew his team had to act quickly if they were going to secure a shot at gaining a foothold in the race to become the device-of-choice in the marijuana screening industry. As Khan sipped on his tea, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, his mind raced with implementation ideas that the team had considered. He wondered if Guard-Ex should initially focus all efforts on gaining adoption within one police service such as the WRPS, or work with several police services to gain more feedback. Should the teamwork with the WRPS as they are the largest police service in the area and learn how the use of the Guard-Ex device can overcome legal hurdles to best achieve broad adoption of this technology in the policing services. Or implement a pilot approach within one Division within the Service to iron out the wrinkles there first on a smaller scale? Train all Police Officers in the Division eligible to use the device to gain feedback, or only a small test group to increase the richness of interaction? Implement a phased approach across all Divisions or add another service to test the device in varying situations? Should Guard-Ex simultaneously focus on private industry, as organizations such as trucking firms had expressed interest in implementing screening devices to ensure their employees were fit for work, given the race to gain a foothold in adoption in these private industries? Should he work with one police division and pilot the technology until the final prototype is developed and then phase the implementation out to other interested services? Address both trucking and policing pilots simultaneously to gain implementation, and perhaps adoption, ground more quickly? Khan knew that private and public sector needs were quite different so effecting testing in each sector was going to be critical to success. Would the private sector be interested in the device if it were not approved through the judicial system as an acceptable test in the courts? Where should he start? He needed to develop an implementation plan that would allow the firm sufficient time to test their new device in the field and gain feedback from users to ensure the device would be fit to be evaluated and approved within the court system. Khan knew that validation of the GX420 device within the legal system was key to success and Khan knew that short-cuts during the later stages of the development and pilot testing process could seriously compromise the quality of the end- product or, in worst case scenario, derail the entire project during implementation. Khan was confident that the technology his firm was developing was the right answer to the problem of impairment screening but was less confident in how to ensure that technology was going to be implemented in the field, approved in the courts and adopted as an industry standard. He had good contacts in the areas of policing and trucking, good Advisors and was building important relationships in the industry but was not sure what approach to piloting and finalizing the implementation of the device would best serve the firm to achieve their goals. Khan realized that the technology needed to be ready for implementation before firm plans were made, and that he needed to work with his team and potential clients in policing and private sectors to determine what strategic direction best served the firm for implementation of the device into the field?…..Developing a strategic implementation plan for the final prototype would take time…but could Guard-Ex wait? Where should he start? GUARD-EX INC. The idea to develop an impairment screening device was originated in Oct. 2016 when Dastiger Khan, Bara Fatal and Anthony Devallis discussed the idea at a party they were hosting. The three colleagues often hosted parties for their peers and this experience provided them with some insight into the urgent need for a process that would help deter people from choosing to drive home impaired. Guard-Ex was officially incorporated on March 8, 2017 to address the need in the industry for an impairment screening device since the use of marijuana was to be legalized in October, 2018. The industry was scrambling to determine how use of this drug was going to be monitored and controlled. After buying out the other co-founders in June 2017 to ensure the firm maintained the strategic focus he envisioned, Khan brought on three colleagues to join his team who were also considered co-founders for the firm. Going forward Guard-Ex was operated by a team of four university students from the Waterloo Region, Khan from the University of Waterloo and the other three from Wilfrid Laurier University. Khan was confident that this new team could work together to manage the firm going forward to achieve his vision. Guard-Ex worked with the Laurier Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science to develop the impairment screening device prototype. The Guard-Ex team, along with their Industry Advisor, Retired Waterloo Regional Police Chief Gravill, conducted many presentations within the community to educate and build relationships with key potential clients such as the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, the Waterloo Regional Police Service, York, Niagara, Peel and Toronto Police Services and the Challenger Motor Freight logistics partner within the Waterloo Region with the aim of obtaining a signed MOU to conduct a pilot implementation program with their device. GUARD-EX ORGANIZATIONAL ROLES The Guard-Ex organizational roles were assigned as follows: Dastiger Khan, Chief Executive Officer; Rahul Malhotra, Chief Research Officer; Baltej Sandhu, Chief Marketing Officer and Harmeet Chauhan, Chief Financial Officer. See Exhibit 1 – Guard-Ex Organization Chart. DASTIGER KHAN, CEO Dastiger Khan graduated from the University of Waterloo, Economics program in April 2019. Khan began his studies at the University of Waterloo in the Mathematics program and realized the program was not aligned with his interests. Once he transferred into the Economics program, he realized that he found a great fit and excelled. Khan played as a flanker for the University of Waterloo’s rugby team and was the VP- External Relations at the Kappa Mu Chapter. As VP-External Relations Khan gained significant experience in organizing school group activities, motivating members and managing chapter volunteer hours. Typically, the chapter would log 3000 hours of volunteering annually, approximately 10 hours per meeting. During his year as VP-External Relations the chapter logged over 6000 hours of volunteering and grew a budget of $3000 to $9000 through funds generated. This growth was fueled by Khan’s passion and his and ability to inspire a team. One of Khan’s favorite events was the University was the DiaBEATthis event. This event raised $4000 toward finding a cure for Diabetes. Khan