What is an epic?

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.

Everything has an epic.

Here’s a tutorial from Jira on creating epics.

Create an epic from scratch.

• Click the ---> + button in the top-righthand corner.

• Select the Project type. Most of the time it will be within Integrated Marketing.

• Select Epic for the issue type.

• Provide the name for the epic, along with the account it is under. For example, CDA Presents would fall under Meetings and Conventions. Example below.

• The next steps are similar to Basecamp. You’ll want to create a summary, purpose, and brief/background, along with deliverables. Within JIRA, you also have the option of marking the internal review date and client review date separately, along with the final due date.

  • Be thorough in your explanations and think of any questions designers or copywriters may have for the client. As the manager of the project, it is your role to answer questions that they may pose.

• Add any pertinent attachments.

• Assign to the project manager (if you are the one putting the job in, it is likely that you are managing the project)

  • Reviewers - this field may not be necessary as the reviewers aren’t typically in Jira. Not all fields are required, you can leave this blank.

• Any pertinent file paths should also be added.

• Create Job.

  • It should fall under the appropriate project. If you need to move it, here are instructions on moving epics between projects.

The Project Manager is responsible for making sure all to-dos and tasks are complete in the epic.

Here’s an example template of an epic for reference.