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How do I describe an epic in Jira?

Author

Emily Cortez

Published Mar 04, 2026

How do I describe an epic in Jira?

An epic is a large body of work that can be broken down into a number of smaller stories, or sometimes called “Issues†in Jira. Epics often encompass multiple teams, on multiple projects, and can even be tracked on multiple boards. Epics are almost always delivered over a set of sprints.

In respect to this, how do you define an epic?

1 : a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero the Iliad and the Odyssey are epics. 2 : a work of art (such as a novel or drama) that resembles or suggests an epic.

Subsequently, question is, what is an epic example? An epic is a long, narrative poem written about a hero and the hero's feats of bravery. Gilgamesh is an Assyrian epic (perhaps the oldest example) about a young Assyrian king who is sent on a quest by the gods. Beowulf is another example of epic poetry, and is considered the national epic for the British.

Also question is, how does epic work in Jira?

Working with epics in classic projects

  1. Step 1: Create a new epic in Jira Software.
  2. Step 2: Add stories or child-issues.
  3. Step 3: Viewing your epics.
  4. Step 4: Set up swimlanes for your epics on your board.
  5. Step 5: Monitor the progress of your epic.
  6. Step 6: Complete your epic.

What is an epic in Scrum?

Epic Definition in Agile Scrum Methodology

An Epic can be defined as a big chunk of work that has one common objective. It could be a feature, customer request or business requirement. These details are defined in User Stories. An epic usually takes more than one sprint to complete.

Is the Bible an epic?

The Bible is an “epic

Within the Bible, the accounts of the Exodus and the life of David can be considered epics. More broadly, the Bible as a whole can be considered an epic. It's the story of Israel, the People of God—a nation and also a spiritual community into which every person ever created is invited.

What is an epic vs feature?

Thus Epics serve to break down into (related, but separate) stories that can be developed independently, while Features serve to group together stories that should be released together. You could say that Epics decompose into User Stories, and User Stories get composed into Features.

What are two types of epic?

There are two main types of epic: folk and literary. Folk epic is an old form of epic poem that was originally told in oral form.

What is another name for epic?

What is another word for epic?
grandgreat
heroicgrandiose
ambitiousextraordinary
impressivemonumental
gallantglorious

What is an epic hero?

An epic hero is the main character of an epic poem that tells the story of a grand quest in which they use their extraordinary or superhuman abilities to achieve great things. In literature, a hero is simply the protagonist, or main character.

How do you calculate epics?

The way you find out how many story points an epic has is by splitting it into stories, discussing those stories, detailing what needs detailing, estimate the stories, and get back a total of story points for the epic itself. And you do that as you refine your backlog and as you plan your next sprint.

Does Epic mean cool?

What about 'epic'? This is a much-used term, added as an adjective before anything, to mean 'great', 'huge', 'awesome', 'the best! ' You really might hear it with anything.

What is an epic in Agile example?

An epic is a large body of work that can be broken down into a number of smaller stories, or sometimes called “Issues” in Jira. Epics often encompass multiple teams, on multiple projects, and can even be tracked on multiple boards. Epics are almost always delivered over a set of sprints.

Can epics span projects in jira?

The Agile JIRA docs state: "An epic can span more than one project, if multiple projects are included in the board to which the epic belongs."

What is an epic theme?

Epics are large bodies of work that can be broken down into a number of smaller tasks (called stories). Initiatives are collections of epics that drive toward a common goal. Themes are large focus areas that span the organization.

How do you write a good epic?

Steps to Writing Good Epics and Stories:
  1. PREP -- Understand that both epics and stories have three required parts and should be written the same way -- with a Label, a Narrative and the Acceptance Criteria.
  2. Follow These Steps:
  3. STEP 1 -- Write the Label.
  4. STEP 2 -- Write the Narrative.
  5. << The exact words you use to introduce the user are not really important.

How do I convert an epic to a story in Jira?

In the issue there should be a "More" button. Click on the button and below "Convert to Sub-task" should be an option to "Move". You should be able to move the issue to story and choose what to do with fields that are present/required in one scheme and not the other.

Can kanban have epics?

The Epics panel for the Kanban backlog must be enabled for a particular board as well, for the board users to use it. See Enabling the Kanban backlog for more information. Go to the Backlog of your Kanban project. Click EPICS on the left side of the board (aligned vertically) to open it.

Can you group epics in Jira?

Assign Epics to Versions. This will allow you to group and view Epics that belong to a particular version. You can prioritize versions by assigning start and end dates. You will still not be able to prioritize all stories of an epic together.

How do I manage epics in Jira?

Managing epics
  1. Go to your Scrum backlog.
  2. Click EPICS on the left side of the board (aligned vertically) to open it. Add a new epic. Click Create epic (you will need to hover over the 'EPICS' panel to show this link), enter the epic details, and create it. Update an epic's details.

Should epics span releases?

Epics should be themes that are relevant across multiple releases, and projects should be configured with a manageable number of active epics. Anything less and the epics may be overloaded with too many user stories, whereas creating too many epics requires more work scanning and scrolling to digest the project.

Is Romeo and Juliet an epic?

Romeo and Juliet: An epic Love Story.

Is an epic a poem?

An epic poem is a lengthy, narrative work of poetry. These long poems typically detail extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past. The word “epic” comes from the ancient Greek term “epos,” which means “story, word, poem.”

What are the characteristics of an epic poem?

Epics have seven main characteristics:
  • The hero is outstanding.
  • The setting is large.
  • The action is made of deeds of great valour or requiring superhuman courage.
  • Supernatural forces—gods, angels, demons—insert themselves in the action.
  • It is written in a very special style (verse as opposed to prose).

What is an example of a modern day epic?

The Odyssey

It is another phenomenal example of an epic. An undeniably good hero-Odysseus is portrayed as the villain in the Aeneid who utilizes treachery and cruelty. A journey or quest encompassing a large setting- It's the “Odyssey.” The entire story is that he is trying to come home.

What are the 3 pillars of Scrum?

Three Pillars of Scrum
  • Three Pillars of Scrum. The three pillars of Scrum that uphold every implementation of empirical process control are: Transparency. Inspection. Adaptation.
  • Transparency. Inspection. Adaption. Transparency.

What are the 6 Scrum principles?

What are the key scrum principles?
  • Control over the empirical process. Transparency, evaluation, and adaptation underlie Scrum methodology.
  • Self-organization.
  • Collaboration.
  • Value-based prioritization.
  • Timeboxing.
  • Iterative development.

What are the 3 C's in agile?

The 3 C's (Card, Conversation, Confirmation) of User Stories

Work together to come up with ideal solutions. The goal is to build a shared understanding.

What is Epic vs Story vs task?

Epics – Large projects that entail many people over a long time. Stories – Smaller projects within an Epic that must be completed before the Epic can be considered 'Done'. Tasks – The day-to-day things you must do to complete a Story.

How do you break epics into user stories?

Here are some suggestions for ways to split epics into stories:
  1. Data Boundaries: Divide the epic into separate bits of functionality along data lines.
  2. Operational Boundaries: Reduce the epic to its minimum viable feature, then build it out with additional slices of functionality.