Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management - Modules

The Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management (PGD PM) offered by the SBL is presented as a structured one-year programme. Students MUST register for all seven (7) modules upon initial registration.

The four (4) semester modules are offered in the first semester, together with the three (3) year modules. Students will therefore have seven (7) modules in the first semster and continue with the three (3) year modules in the second semester.

SEMESTER MODULES:

Managing Project Execution and Control (PGM4811)

The purpose of the module is to provide qualifying students with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to enable them to create project value and control project parameters. The learning in this will specifically enable students to select the right project through development of a business case; project initiation through creating a project charter; defining the project plan through creating and using a work breakdown structure (WBS); and scheduling and controlling the project through various models.

 This module is one of the central pillars of project management knowledge base. It will equip students with a coherent, contemporary and comprehensive understanding of how projects are planned – how to determine the way in which project goals will be achieved by establishing what must be done, by whom, when, and for how much. Primarily to develop students’ ability to master various approaches in striving to minimize uncertainty, to avoid negative impacts on all project parameters. The module will seek to equip students with an in-depth understanding of the fundamental methods for determining what/who/when issues in projects. It will help students to develop the skills required to formulate a project feasibility study, formulate a project scope statement and work breakdown structure (WBS). To equip students with knowledge base to develop skills to master all functions of management and the project management system – being able to schedule and control the project, project budgeting, resource allocation, tracking and evaluation. It will also help students to embrace Agile methods where suitable and will provide direction on how the methods could be applied within a project environment.

Managing Project Stakeholders (PGM4812)

The purpose of this module is to provide students with the requisite knowledge and competencies which will enable them to improve the success rate of projects through the development of appropriate management strategies to effectively engage relevant internal and external stakeholders and project teams. Crucial in this regard, is the importance of consistent and effective communication, performance, and conflict resolution and negotiation management throughout the various stages of the project life cycle.

 Managing Project Cost & Finance (PGM4813)

The purpose of this module is to equip students with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes within the project environment to perform project cost estimation and determine project financing requirements within an organisation.

Students will acquire a knowledge base of various cost estimation techniques applicable for project costing. Furthermore, students will also master project financing requirements, financial instruments and the role of financial model in managing project funding. Finally, students will incorporate project finance risk in determining financial transactions when performing annual reviews during project execution.

Managing Project Risk (PGM4814)

The purpose of this module is to enable qualifying students to acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitude in relation to the importance of managing risk in the procurement and management of projects processes from start to finish.

 This module should be considered as one of the central pillars of project management knowledge base. It will equip students with contemporary and comprehensive understanding of how project risks are managed. The module will also equip students  with theory and practice knowledge base to assess risk in terms of severity of impact; ; likelihood of occurring; and controllability. The module will also provide students with knowledge to be able to deal with issues of risk response development and developing contingency plans – determining what risk event to mitigate, avoid, transfer share or retain. The module will seek to equip students with an in-depth understanding of the fundamental process risk response control to be able to implement risk strategy, monitor and adjust plan for new risks, and change management. It will also provide students with in-depth understanding of change control management as a major element of the risk control process.  Furthermore, students will be exposed to Agile methods where suitable.  Finally, the module will provide students with knowledge to be able to deal with issues of sustainable project management within the major components of the risk management process.

 YEAR MODULES:

Managing Project Procurement & Contracts (PGM4815)

The purpose of the module is to provide qualifying students with competencies to function effectively in senior and executive procurement and contract management positions. More specifically students will gain knowledge, values, attitudes and skills in procurement and contract management required to effectively make and implement procurement and contract management decisions in support of delivering projects in complex, uncertain and volatile business environments.

Qualifying learners can lead and manage procurement individuals and teams enabling execution of projects by utilising their analytical and decision-making skills, respecting different opinions, challenging their own thinking and questioning conventional wisdom.

 The genesis of this module is to expose students to a project-based organization (PBO), which offers project management services to external clients or within and make students appreciate and have clear understanding of commercial management fundamentals. The module with further expose students to fundamentals of Procurement Planning; the rudiments of preparing for procurement; various steps that need to be taken to effect project procurement in the manner acceptable as project procurement best practices; deal with the dynamics of public/or private procurement of consulting services; rudiments of preparing for procurement basically involving: preparation of the bidding documents, and the conduct of the pre-procurement conference; and embracing Agile methods where suitable. The module will also intensively draw students’ attention to the fact that the application of sustainability and SDGs principles in project procurement requires challenging conventional “silo thinking" or profit only motive. In this regard, the module will develop students  understanding why project procurement needs to move away from lowest cost bidder in awarding contracts. It will also build students  understanding on how project procurement can incorporate sustainability in its process to contribute to the triple bottom line objectives.

 Managing Project Leadership (PGM4816)

The purpose of this module is to equip qualifying students with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that will introduce them to senior management decision-making model. The learning in this module will primarily enable students to prioritise, assess risk and deploy resources for addressing the risks across an entire organisation. It will further provide students with contemporary and comprehensive knowledge base on how to develop project management as an organisational practice for successful projects.

 Integrated Project Management Practice (PGM4817)

The purpose of this module is to afford qualifying student with an opportunity to demonstrate authentic, practical experience of managing all aspects of a live project through the project life cycle. It assesses the capacity of students to integrate standard project management processes and key knowledge areas through applying competencies acquired across all modules.

This module is a link-pin to all the 6 Modules of the PGD PM, a hands-on-Module which will allow students to put project management knowledge base into practice through a Studio environment. It seeks to equip students with an in-depth understanding of all the practical project management fundamentals of project value creation. Mastering all the project stages within a project lifecycle. Being able to appreciate the challenges of managing all types of projects – public, business, engineering, information systems, and so on – as well as the specific practical techniques and insights required to carry out this unique way of getting things done. It helps students to develop the skills required to formulate project SMART Objectives, project feasibility study, formulate a project scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS), manage risk, manage project supply chain and manage project parameters. Furthermore, it will expose students to Agile methods where suitable and provide practical direction necessary.