JIRA Epics Tutorial

What is a Jira Epic?

A Jira Epic is a large work item that is broken down into several smaller user stories according to customer requirements. Teams therefore accomplish bigger goals by splitting the work into manageable pieces.

An epic in Jira can be compared to a folder in a project hierarchy where all the related work is placed, which makes the relevant items easy to find.

Because Jira is designed for agile practices, the Jira epic is designed for agile and DevOps teams as well.

Epic Vs. Story Vs. Task

Task, Story, and Epic are the key elements of Jira that help you plan, structure, and execute project work. The characteristics of each element are given below.

Task

A task is the smallest element of a project and can usually be completed in one working day. A task is assigned to a team member and marked as completed when it is finished. Other features of a task are:

• A task is part of a sprint or scrum.
• A bigger task can be split into sub-tasks.
• Tasks can be linked, and one task can block another.

Story

A story is a bigger element than a task, because stories are made up of tasks. Features of a story are:

• The story is usually assigned to the project lead.
• Tasks are linked to stories.
• Stories can be completed within a few sprints.

Epic

An epic is a larger element that is broken down into stories and tasks. Epics have the following characteristics:

• Epics represent the collection of work for a bigger project.
• Epics span multiple sprints.
• An epic comprises stories and tasks that can be linked.

The table below sets out the basic differences between an Epic, a Story and a Task.

Parameter	Epic	Story	Task
Meaning	An Epic presents the theme or topic to which a task belongs, or represents a big project, for example, “Relaunch Website”.	Stories can be a bigger project, like creating new landing pages for the marketing campaign.	Tasks are used to plan particular pieces of work that might take more than 1 working day.
Usage	Mainly used for high-level business requirements and to track large ideas in a product backlog.	Stories are small project requirements that describe what should be done.	It can be divided into subtasks.
Size	They are too big and complex to be delivered in a single sprint.	Stories are deliverables that are small enough to be completed in a sprint.	Tasks can be part of a sprint or scrum.
Cross-linking	Stories and Tasks belonging to the same epic are sometimes linked or co-dependent.	All related Tasks can be linked into a single story.	They can be cross-linked and can block each other.

Jira’s Epic Features

As a project management and tracking tool, Jira gives epics the indispensable features explained below:

• Project Planning: Create a defined scope, organize and assign the work, and set project schedules.
• Customizable Workflows: Fit the workflow to the requirements of your projects.
• Defining Milestones: Group team tasks so you can organize and deliver your project on the target date.
• Roadmaps: Visualize the work on a timeline.
• Security: Ensure only relevant team members have access to a work item.
• Reporting: Monitor the project’s progress and execution.
• Product Integration: Use other tools to make certain tasks easier.

How to Create an Epic in Jira

There are 2 methods to create an epic.

Method 1) Creating an Epic from a New Issue

You can create an epic using the navigation menu. The steps are:

Step 1) Click the “Create” button at the top navigation bar.

Step 2) The “Create Issue” screen is shown. Select “Epic” from the “Issue Type” dropdown.

Method 2) Creating an Epic from the Epics Panel

You can also create an epic from the Epics panel shown in “Backlog”. Follow these steps.

Step 1) Click the “Backlog” option from the left side of the screen.

Step 2) Click “Epics” from the epics panel.

Step 3) Click “Create Issue in Epic”.

How to Add a Story to an Epic

You can add stories to an epic in the following two ways.

Method 1) Add a Story from the “Create Issue” Screen

Step 1) Click the “Create” button on the navigation bar.

Step 2) Click the “Issue Type” dropdown and select an issue type other than epic.

Method 2) Add a Story from the Epics Panel

Step 1) Click “Backlog” on the left side of the screen.

Step 2) Click “Epics” from the Epics pane.

Step 3) Click “Create Issue in Epic”.

How to Remove a Story from an Epic

To remove a story from an epic, follow these steps.

Step 1) Go to the “Backlog” page.

Step 2) Select the story you want to delete and click the three-dot menu shown on the right side of the screen.

Step 3) Select “Delete” from the dropdown options.

How to View an Epic

All the information about a project’s epics is available on the “Backlog” page. You can view the following information about epics from this page.

Epics screen: Go to “Backlog” and click “Epics”. From this screen you can view and manage the epics of your project.

View issues in an Epic: To view the issues or stories of an epic, click the required epic’s name.

How to End or Complete your Epic

Once all the tasks of an epic are completed, the epic is marked as complete. Follow these steps.

Step 1) Click “Backlog” at the left of the screen.

Step 2) Click “Epics” from the Epics panel.

Step 3) Select the epic you need to mark as completed, click the dropdown and select “Mark as Done”.

Breakdown of an Agile Epic

An agile epic can be broken down into smaller user stories as long as you can manage and track them properly.

The number and size of epics in a project must be managed appropriately. Epics that are too big make progress slow, and epics that are too small leave you managing an oversized backlog, as the diagram below illustrates.

Consider the following points while breaking down an epic.

• Story for user role: Create a separate user story for each user action or role.
• Creating a story for steps: Break a longer process into smaller steps and create stories for those steps.
• Team norms: Team culture decides whether a story is a short piece of work or a time-consuming one.
• Time factor: Create user stories that can be completed in one sprint.

How to Measure an Epic in Jira?

Measuring agile epics provides project insight and keeps management informed about progress. Burndown charts are the standard tool for visualizing an epic. These charts plot the estimated work against the actual work done in a Jira epic. The x-axis of the burndown chart shows the sprints and the y-axis shows the user stories, as in the chart below.

Using the burndown chart makes it easy to keep track of the work. Team progress and pace become visible, which makes the project more predictable, especially alongside a formal defect management process.

Why Are Epics Important in Jira?

Here are the reasons why epics are important in Jira:

• With epics, project outcomes are organized so stakeholders can follow project progress more easily.
• Epics provide a simple way to abstract the project’s status and report measurable outcomes to stakeholders.
• Epics allow teams to establish priority goals and the metrics needed to track those goals.
• User stories are arranged so a detailed design can be produced before implementation.
• Epics help the project team optimize workflow and keep decision-making flexible as the project progresses.
• Epics help DevOps teams define and design their projects, which promotes innovation in product design and development.

For the wider walkthrough, see the Jira tutorial for beginners, plus the guides to scrum testing and agile testing.

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