Abstract
To enhance success probability of a system development project, its overall risk level should be minimized through systematically managing schedules, costs, and technical performances. However, Attempts to manage technical performance compared to numerous efforts to control costs and schedules in such projects are deficient. Particularly, a space launch vehicle, a large complex system, development project is much less likely to meet its technical performance objectives due to its technological difficulty, along with schedule delay and cost overrun. The technical performance management (TPM) is a method for tracking and managing technical progress in order to achieve technical performance targets within schedule and budget. In this paper, we investigate applications of the TPM in several space launch vehicle development projects. Then we propose and validate the TPM process to achieve a successful mission in such projects.