Jira projects, initiatives, epics, stories, tasks, and subtasks

Most Jira projects are typically organized using epics, stories, tasks, and subtasks to structure work within the projects. Recently, Atlassian has introduced initiatives, 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 represent high-level strategic objectives for your organization that multiple teams and projects may collaborate on. These initiatives are exclusively accessible in the Advanced planning feature of Atlassian, now known as Advanced roadmaps. This feature is currently included in our premium subscription for Jira Software. We recommend that senior leadership acquire a JS license and project to define initiatives that align with their organization'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 serve as the next significant component and can be utilized similarly to initiatives, as they can be linked across projects. Alternatively, they can function as the primary construct within a specific project. Multiple epics from different projects can be associated with higher-level initiatives and can encapsulate various stories and tasks. Project managers are typically accountable for ensuring that the epics are achieved and reporting on progress at the epic level.

Stories originate from the concept of a user story and are the subsequent significant construct under epics. Primarily used in application development to represent user-facing 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. It is advisable to use stories only when developing user-facing capabilities that necessitate user stories to avoid confusion. For simpler scenarios, where additional granularity is unnecessary, it is recommended to stick to tasks and subtasks.

Tasks represent specific activities essential to fulfill higher-level stories, epics, and initiatives. Typically assigned to an individual or team, tasks ideally should be completed within a few days by a specific individual. If a task requires more time or involves multiple individuals, consider breaking it down into subtasks, which are the smallest level of granularity within the Jira product line.

Here are some Atlassian resources explaining the hierarchy of issue types, but note that these 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 programs or initiatives. Within a plan, you can schedule work, allocate resources, identify dependencies, and simulate different scenarios, all within a unified platform.

Plans extract data from boards, projects, and filters in Jira to present work in a customizable interface. Acting as a sandbox environment, you can strategize and test before applying changes to your original data in Jira. For more details on Advanced planning, you can refer to Atlassian's guide on Advanced Roadmaps.