Michael Schabacker studied mathematics with practical and applied informatics at the University Mannheim. Afterwards he was assistant lecturer at the chair of Information Technologies in Mechanical Engineering (LMI), Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg. In 2001, he made his phd-degree about the theme "Benefit Evaluation of New Technologies in Product Development". The available work is the basis of an astonishing analogy between product development and financial engineering which is formulated in the Benefit Asset Pricing Model (BAPM). After his phd he worked in different consulting projects e.g. for proNavigate GmbH on the areas dynamic project navigation, modelling, analyse and evaluation of enterprise processes as well as evaluation of PDM systems with the help of the BAPM. Since 2003 he is chief assistant at LMI and doing his habilitation on the theme "Product Lifecycle Costing".

Kilian Gericke is postdoctoral researcher in the Research Unit in Engineering Science of the University of Luxembourg. Kilian studied Mechanical Engineering in Berlin, Germany. After receiving his diploma in 2005 he worked at the Technische Universität Berlin until 2010 as Research Associate and obtained his PhD for his research on Project Risk Management in product development projects in 2011. Since 2010 he works at the University of Luxembourg in the engineering design and methodology group which is part of the Research Unit in Engineering Science. Kilian is lecturing courses on Machine Elements and Sustainable Development and is supervising student design projects. His main research interests are in systematic product development and design management. In his work he analyses potentials and ways of exchanging and adapting methods and systematic design approaches across different design disciplines.

Kilian is chair of the Design Society's Special Interest Group on Modelling and Management of Engineering Processes (MMEP).

Nikoletta Szélig is researchassociate at the chair of Information Technologies in Mechanical Engineering at the Otto-von-Guericke-University in Magdeburg, Germany.

She studied Industrial Design Engineering at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. After receiving her first diploma degree she gathered experience by working for international companies and achieved her second diploma degree as an engineering teacher. She got a state scholarship for the Pattantyús-Ábrahám Géza Mechanical Engineering Sciences Doctoral School in 2007 and since 2011 she is working on her PhD at the University of Magdeburg. Her main research areas are product development processes, process modelling and risks in development processes.

Sándor Vajna, born 1952, diploma degree and Dr.-Ing. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Karlsruhe University. 12 years of experience within industry in research & development, management, consulting and international lecturing on Product Development, Design Methodology, CAD/CAM, Process Reengineering and CIM (now PLM). Since 1994 holder of the Chair of Information Technologies in Mechanical Engineering at the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg. His main research areas are Integrated Design Engineering, the Autogenetic Design Theory (Product development with Evolution strategies), Dynamic Process Navigation and CAx applications.