Epics

Epics are large bodies of work that can be broken down into multiple user stories. They represent major features, initiatives, or themes that span multiple sprints. Epics help organize related work under a single umbrella, making it easier to track progress toward significant product goals.

The Problem This Solves

User stories alone can become overwhelming. A backlog with hundreds of unrelated stories is impossible to prioritize meaningfully. Teams lose sight of the bigger picture when every story stands alone.

Epics provide hierarchy. They group related stories under themes like "Mobile App Launch" or "Payment System Overhaul." This organization enables strategic planning, clearer communication with stakeholders, and better understanding of how individual work contributes to larger goals.

What You Are Looking At

The Epics view displays all epics within your project. You see a table listing each epic with its title, the count of associated user stories, and creation date.

From here you can:

View all existing epics
Create new epics
Click into an epic to see its stories
Track how many stories belong to each epic

Epic Structure

Each epic contains:

Title: A descriptive name for the initiative. Good epic titles describe outcomes, not tasks: "Streamlined Onboarding Flow" rather than "Fix Registration."

User Stories: The collection of stories that implement this epic. Stories link to epics during creation or can be assigned afterward.

Statistics: Count of associated user stories, completion metrics, and progress indicators.

Created Date: When the epic was first created.

Creating Epics

From the Epics View

Navigate to your project's Epics section
Click "Add Epic" button
Enter the epic title
Click Create

The epic appears immediately in your list, ready to receive user stories.

From User Story Creation

When creating a user story, you can create an epic inline:

Open create user story modal
Click the Epic dropdown
Select "Create new epic"
Enter epic title
Save—both epic and story are created

This workflow is efficient when you realize mid-story-creation that a new epic is needed.

See Create User Story for detailed instructions.

Linking Stories to Epics

During Story Creation

Create new user story
Click Epic dropdown
Select existing epic
Complete story creation

For Existing Stories

Open the user story
Navigate to Details tab
Find Epic field
Select desired epic from dropdown
Save changes

Epic Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Good epic names:

Customer Self-Service Portal
Q4 Performance Optimization
Mobile App MVP
Payment Gateway Integration

Avoid:

Epic 1, Epic 2 (not descriptive)
Fix bugs (too broad)
Task list (describes format, not value)

Size Guidelines

Epics should be:

Completable: Can finish within one quarter
Substantial: Contains 5-15 user stories typically
Meaningful: Represents real user or business value

Too large: "Build entire product" → Break into multiple epics Too small: "Add button" → That's a story, not an epic

Epic Lifespan

Epics have a lifecycle:

Created: New initiative identified
Active: Stories being written and worked
Progressing: Stories completing, value delivering
Complete: All stories done, initiative achieved
Archived: Historical record

Viewing Epic Details

Click any epic in the list to see:

Full epic information
List of associated user stories
Progress metrics (stories complete vs. total)
Timeline information

From this view you can:

Edit epic title
View each story's status
Navigate to individual stories

Epics and Planning

Sprint Planning

During sprint planning:

Review epics to understand priorities
Pull stories from high-priority epics
Balance work across active epics
Track epic progress sprint-over-sprint

Roadmap View

Epics form the backbone of product roadmaps:

Each epic represents a roadmap item
Timeline shows epic expected completion
Progress bars indicate status
Stakeholders understand what's coming

Stakeholder Communication

Epics translate technical work to business language:

Instead of: "We completed 23 stories this sprint" Say: "We're 80% done with the Customer Portal epic"

Epic Metrics

Story Count

Number of user stories linked to the epic. Watch for:

Growing count: Scope may be expanding
Stable count: Well-defined initiative
Zero stories: Epic needs decomposition

Completion Progress

Percentage of stories marked complete:

Progress = (Completed Stories / Total Stories) × 100

Story Points (if using)

Total effort estimated for the epic:

Sum of story points across all stories
Helps compare epic sizes
Informs capacity planning

Common Patterns

Feature Epic

Group all work for a new feature:

Epic: "Document Collaboration"
Stories: Real-time editing, commenting, version history, sharing

Initiative Epic

Cross-functional business initiatives:

Epic: "GDPR Compliance"
Stories: Data export, deletion, consent management, audit logging

Technical Epic

Infrastructure or platform work:

Epic: "API v2 Migration"
Stories: New endpoints, deprecation notices, client updates, testing

Improvement Epic

Ongoing enhancement themes:

Epic: "Performance Optimization Q4"
Stories: Database indexing, caching layer, image optimization

Epics vs. Other Structures

Epics vs. Projects

Projects: Separate workspaces with their own boards, teams, settings Epics: Groupings within a project that organize stories

Use epics for related work within one project. Use projects for completely separate initiatives with different teams or stakeholders.

Epics vs. Sprints

Sprints: Time-boxed periods (2 weeks) Epics: Theme-based groupings (any duration)

An epic spans multiple sprints. A sprint contains stories from multiple epics. They're orthogonal organizational structures.

Epics vs. Labels/Tags

Epics: Hierarchical parent-child relationship with stories Labels: Flat categorization for filtering

Epics provide structure and rollup. Labels provide filtering. Both can be used together.

Managing Many Epics

Prioritization

Keep active epics manageable:

3-5 active epics typical
More than 10 active = too many
Archive completed epics

Epic States

Consider tracking epic status:

Planned: Defined but not started
In Progress: Stories actively being worked
On Hold: Paused for other priorities
Complete: All stories finished
Archived: Historical record

Epic Hygiene

Regular maintenance:

Review epics monthly
Archive completed epics
Break up too-large epics
Merge too-small epics
Update titles if scope changed

Workflow Integration

From Product Discovery

Product decisions become epics:

Stakeholder identifies need
Product defines epic
Team breaks into stories
Stories enter backlog
Sprint planning pulls stories
Work delivers incrementally

To Completion

Epic completion workflow:

All stories complete
Epic reviewed for quality
Feature validated with users
Epic marked complete
Retrospective on the initiative
Epic archived

Permissions

Epic management follows project permissions:

Role	Capabilities
Agency Owner	Create, edit, delete all epics
Manager	Create, edit epics
Developer	View epics, link stories
Client	View epics if enabled

Troubleshooting

Cannot create epic:

Verify project permissions
Check you're in the correct project
Try refreshing the page

Epic not showing in dropdown:

Epic may be archived
Check project context
Refresh story creation modal

Story count wrong:

Count updates on page refresh
Check for archived stories
Verify story-epic links

How to Report a Problem or Request a Feature

Your feedback matters. Here is how to share it:

If epics behave unexpectedly or you need additional functionality, we want to know.

In the Sidebar, click on Support Tickets and open a ticket for the problem. Everything is interactive and fast through the GitScrum Studio platform.