On behalf of the PROFES organizing committee we would like to welcome you to the 4th International Conference on Product Focused Software Process Impro- ment (PROFES 2002) in Rovaniemi, Finland. The conference was held on the Arctic Circle in exotic Lapland under the Northern Lights just before Christmas time, when Kaamos (the polar night is known in Finnish as "Kaamos") shows its best characteristics. PROFES has established itself as one of the recognized international process improvement conferences. Despite the current economic downturn, PROFES has attracted a record number of submissions....