The history of the epic in Jira

The “Epic” process type has been in the standard Jira setup for quite a while and since version 7 of Jira at the latest, the Epic has been an integral part of project templates with an agile approach (Kanban or Scrum).

Since then, the epic has existed in a fixed hierarchy (epic - story - sub-task) with specific fields, evaluations and links. For at least as long, teams or users have been asking whether this guy could be called something else.

With the increasing spread of “Scaled Agile” approaches, there was a growing need to name the Epic type differently. For example, the Scaled Agile Framework SAFe® names the levels of work packages differently than Jira. According to SAFe®, this is what it is called (from top to bottom):

Portfolio Epic→ Capability → Feature → Story → Task

On the other hand, in the Atlassian implementation of Jira:

Epic → Story → Sub-Task

In the past, this has led to various approaches that have tried to reconcile the Jira setup with the agile textbook. Various apps have adopted hierarchies, naming, and dependencies.

Atlassian has recognized this problem and is continuing to work to reduce these hurdles. Therefore, we describe 3 ways the Epic (and associated configurations) has changed or will change in the future:

1. The epic gets a new name

No, Atlassian didn't just decide to give the familiar guy a new name. Instead, it has been possible for some time in Jira's cloud plans to rename the “Epic” type as you like, without an additional app and without loss of functionality.

There is also a detailed post on this topic from Atlassian itself: Rename “epics” in your company-managed projects

2. The epic is no longer at the top of the hierarchy

By expanding the functionality of “Roadmaps” (or “Advanced Roadmaps”), Atlassian has not only brought the planning level to Jira as a standardized feature, but at the same time it has also made it possible to extend the existing hierarchy (epic, story, sub-task) at the top as desired.

In both Jira Server, Data Center and Cloud Premium, it is thus possible to add a higher-level element to the Epic without having to find a solution through detours.

3. The epic loses its special position

For a few days in May, the following message was posted on various cloud instances, which has since been removed again:

This indicates that Atlassian is working (and has already converted in part) to replace the special fields “Epic Name” and “Epic Link” with a generic “parent link.” Until now, the link between epic and story was handled by these two fields.

By replacing the specific fields, you take a further step towards resolving the fixed 3-level hierarchy and opening it up for a more flexible setup.

3 approaches

With these 3 approaches and many minor adjustments, the epic and its use open up to a much wider application. Atlassian is working to remove the special status of epic and enable more flexible hierarchies. At least on cloud instances, this opening doesn't seem too far off anymore.

The use cases for open hierarchies certainly go beyond those of an agile setup.

Admittedly, it is currently difficult to estimate whether all adjustments will find their way to the data center version, but from our point of view, it would be at least desirable.

The path to enterprise agility - Jira Align

As scaled agile approaches are implemented in ever larger organizations, the need for tool support also increases. The circle of stakeholders involved is expanding and thus offers enormous opportunities.

In order to address the associated needs of all parties involved (budget and capacity planning, roadmaps and forecasts, risk management, objectives, and many more), Atlassian offers a tool with Jira Align to enable higher-level collaboration.

From strategic goals to individual work packages — everything combined in one platform.

Whether agile or not, whether Kanban or Scrum, whether SAFe® or LeSS — we support you in setting up, rebuilding or operating your Jira setup and are happy to advise you on how to link business processes with technical components.

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