Most Jira projects are configured to use typically organized using epics, stories, tasks, and subtasks to organize structure work within the projects. Recently, Atlassian has recently also introduced initiatives but you can think of them as a hierarchy that allows you to go from a higher level goal down to each very specific subtask needed to accomplish , which can be viewed as a hierarchical structure enabling you to move from a broader goal to specific subtasks required to achieve that goal.
Initiatives are represent high-level strategic goals objectives for your organization that many different multiple teams and projects might work to meet. Initiatives are only available may collaborate on. These initiatives are exclusively accessible in the Advanced planning (formerly feature of Atlassian, now known as Advanced roadmaps) . This feature of Atlassian which is currently available to us as part of included in our premium subscription for Jira Software. Our recommendation is We recommend that senior level leadership request acquire a JS license and project to define initiatives that align with their organization can link their work back to. Atlassian is continuously changing the way the name and package that functionality so check for updates. Senior leadership can create a JS Top level planning project that contains the initiatives to guide the work performed by their organizations. Individual project managers can create and tie epics in their projects back 's objectives. It's important to note that Atlassian consistently updates the name and packaging of this functionality, so staying informed about updates is crucial. Senior leaders can establish a JS Top-level planning project containing the initiatives to steer the work carried out by their organizations. Project managers can then link epics in their projects to the initiatives in the top-level planning project.
Epics are serve as the next largest construct available significant component and can either be used in the same way as initiatives since be utilized similarly to initiatives, as they can be linked across projects or . Alternatively, they can be used function as the top level primary construct within a specific project. Multiple epics across from different projects can tie back to higher be associated with higher-level initiatives and they can summarize multiple encapsulate various stories and tasks. Project managers are usually responsible typically accountable for ensuring that the epics are being met achieved and reporting status on progress at that the epic level.
Stories stem originate from the concept of a user story and are the next largest subsequent significant construct under epics. Because they are meant Primarily used in application development to represent a user-facing feature or capability they are most often used by and reserved for application development. However, they can also be used to provide an additional level of granularity for breaking up work since multiple tasks and then subtasks can be tied features or capabilities, stories can also offer a deeper level of detail for breaking down work. Tasks and subtasks can be linked back to a single story. We recommend only using stories if you are It is advisable to use stories only when developing user-facing capabilities that require necessitate user stories otherwise people might find it confusing. If you do not need the additional granularity keep things simple for your teams and just use to avoid confusion. For simpler scenarios, where additional granularity is unnecessary, it is recommended to stick to tasks and subtasks.
Tasks represent specific work that needs to be done in order to meet higher activities essential to fulfill higher-level stories, epics, and initiatives. This is the level of work that is usually Typically assigned to a specific an individual and/ or team and , tasks ideally can should be completed within a few days by a specific individual. If there is a task that takes more than a few days or takes multiple people to complete it, then consider splitting that task up into subtasks requires more time or involves multiple individuals, consider breaking it down into subtasks, which are the smallest level of granularity available within the Jira product line.
Here are some links to Atlassian explanations and references to their Atlassian resources explaining the hierarchy of issue types, but be warned note that these evolve frequently and they are not always great about cleaning up outdated documentation.
https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/epics-stories-themes
https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/epics
https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/user-stories
Advanced planning is a set of capabilities offered within a feature called Plans.
Plans enables teams of teams to plan and track references are subject to frequent updates and may not always reflect the latest information:
Advanced planning encompasses a range of capabilities provided within a feature known as Plans. This feature allows teams to plan and monitor cross-functional work, such as a program programs or initiativeinitiatives. Within a plan, you can schedule work, allocate capacityresources, map identify dependencies, and model simulate different scenarios, all within a single source of truthunified platform.
Plans pulls extract data from boards, projects, and filters in Jira to visualize present work in a customizable interface. Functioning Acting as a sandbox environment, you can plan strategize and experiment test before updating applying changes to your original data in Jira. https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/guides/advanced-roadmaps/overview#what-is-advanced-planning For more details on Advanced planning, you can refer to Atlassian's guide on Advanced Roadmaps.