Int. J. Product Development, Vol. 15, Nos. 1/2/3, 2011 1 Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Editorial Regine W. Vroom and Imre Horváth Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Landbergstraat 15, 2628 CE Delft, the Netherlands E-mail: r.w.vroom@tudelft.nl E-mail: i.horvath@tudelft.nl Ferruccio Mandorli Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Design Tools & Methods Group, Department of Mechanics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona (AN), Italy E-mail: f.mandorli@univpm.it Biographical notes: Regine W. Vroom is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. She received her MSc Diploma (1986) cum laude and earned her PhD title (2001) both from this University. Her primary research interests include conceptual and embodiment design engineering, information and knowledge handling within product design, methodological and managerial aspects of product development, ubiquitous computing and design tools and systems. Imre Horváth is a Full Professor of Computer Aided Design and Engineering at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. He earned his Dr. univ. title (1987) and PhD title (1994) from TU Budapest in Hungary. He has a CDSc title from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His current research interests include design application of smart and ubiquitous technologies, systemisation of design research, affordance-based innovation and teleconferencing-based active learning. Ferruccio Mandorli is a Full Professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Università Politecnica delle Marche. He obtained a PhD in Engineering of Industrial Production from the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Parma. His primary research interests are related to the tools and methods to support engineering design, with focus on design automation applications, lifecycle assessment and product lifecycle management. He is the author of more than 100 national and international publications.