This thesis is an examination of the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) program's implementation of the User Operational Evaluation System (UOES) acquisition strategy. The Missile Defense Act of 1991 imposed significant schedule risk on THAAD's development, necessitating the UOES strategy. The UOES risk management issues are analyzed using DOD's risk management guidance. This guidance incorporates some current methods, applications, and trends in using prototypes during development. Using this guidance, THAAD's tailored acquisition strategy is reviewed. From this review, lessons that have been learned from the program's experience are developed. The results show that as a result of programmatic risk the UOES strategy has resulted in a delay in fielding the full THAAD objective system.
