Towards an Integrated Digital Product Management Framework

Product management plays a key role in the development and management of digital products, but the current professional literature does not provide a unified and practically usable framework that systematically integrates product strategy, product manager responsibilities, and the product development process. The aim of the article is to analyze the role of the product manager, identify the main steps of the product management process, including the methods and analyses used, and propose an integrated framework based on empirical findings. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with product managers and practitioners. The results showed that the role of the product manager and its associated responsibilities vary significantly between organizations, while the product management process itself shows a high degree of similarity. Four main phases of the process were identified: product discovery, product ownership, product launch and commercialization, and product optimization. The differences were mainly reflected in the methods used, the analyses conducted, and the interpretation of selected product management concepts. The contribution of the article lies in proposing an integrated product management framework that connects relevant knowledge from literature with empirical findings and provides organizations with a systematic approach to managing the development of digital products.