Image forming state adjusting system, exposure method and exposure apparatus, and program and information storage medium

A device manufacturing method comprising:

• performing a lithographic process,
• wherein in said lithographic process, exposure is performed using an exposure method of forming a pattern on an object via a projection optical system, comprising deciding an optimal adjustment amount of an adjustment device which adjusts an image forming property of said projection optical system to optimize the image forming property under a pattern to be formed and an exposure condition of the pattern, based on information related to wavefront aberration of said projection optical system, a Zernike Sensitivity Chart corresponding to the pattern and the exposure condition, a wavefront aberration variation table that denotes a relation between an adjustment amount of said adjustment device and a change in coefficients of terms in the Zernike polynomial, and a restraint condition with respect to the adjustment amount of the adjustment device, and exposing the pattern on the object under the exposure condition via the projection optical system of which the image forming property is adjusted by the adjustment device based on the decided optimal adjustment amount.