AbstractIn many current development projects targets concerning time, cost and quality are often not achieved. This is due to the complexity of the product and its engineering processes. The conceivable development of information and communication technology will enable advanced mechatronic systems. Their manifold system functions, the cross-linking of elements within the system and their hardly manageable interactions induce a much higher complexity in the development process and make it much more challenging than today. As approaches of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) get more and more accepted within industry, they can be the foundation for a better management of the product development process. Due to this, we state that model based systems engineering forms the basis for systems engineering management to ensure, that project targets are achieved. In this contribution we point out, how a discipline-spanning system model can be used as the core of system engineering management: We introduce a modelling technique and its utilization for project planning as well as assessment and control. We present approaches for planning operational structures as well as technical reviews and further for measuring development progress and product maturity on different system hierarchy levels, using the information modeled within the system model.