A method and system can be used to automatically manage a digital asset, from development to deployment, to control change within a network environment in a comprehensive and efficient manner. Digital assets can be tracked for progress and inaccuracies, mistakes, and incompatibilities can be addressed prior to deployment. Stages can be used to formalize and automate the flow of digital assets along the process. Further, metadata regarding the digital asset can be captured at any time to provide an audit trail for the digital asset from development all the way through deployment. Any stage may have access to any or all metadata captured for the digital asset.