The concept of ‘process maps’ has been utilized to study the fundamentals of process–structure–property–performance relationships in high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) sprayed coatings. Ni-20%Cr was chosen as a metallic reference material. Concurrent experiments including diagnostic studies, splat collection, and deposition of coatings were aimed to investigate the effects of fuel gas chemistry (fuel gas/oxygen ratio), the amount of total gas flow, and the energy input on the particle temperature and velocity, the microstructure formation and the resultant properties and wear resistance. Coatings were deposited on an ‘in situ’ monitoring curvature sensor to extract coating residual stresses and to estimate the coating modulus. A strong influence of particle velocity on induced compressive stresses through “peening” effect is discussed. The complete tracking of the coating buildup history including residual stress evolution and temperature deposition, in addition to single splat analysis allows the interpretation of resultant coating microstructures, properties and wear performance.