Technological change from mechanics to intelligent technical systems leads to a fast evolution of products. This evolution is characterized by manifold product generations and product versions, each of them comprising a bunch of new product features and technical changes. To cope with these changes, companies need to systematically manage product evolution in terms of concerted innovation and adaptation steps. Based on this need, this paper outlines a framework for managing evolution of intelligent technical systems. The need for evolving technical systems is detailed and the main fields of action in managing evolution of intelligent technical systems are introduced. The paper concludes by deriving release planning as a suitable approach and an important discipline for future development of intelligent technical systems.