How to Create an Epic in Jira: A Step-by-Step Guide [2026]
Not sure how to create an epic in Jira? Follow this 2026 step-by-step guide to organize work and track progress. Click to discover!
Creating an epic in Jira sounds simple until you need to place it in the right project, connect it to the correct work items, and keep progress visible. A poorly configured epic can scatter related tasks across boards, confuse your team, and make larger goals difficult to track.
The frustration usually appears later. A team starts building a major feature, then discovers that stories are attached to different epics, reports show incomplete progress, or the epic cannot be found in the expected backlog view.
Here’s the practical solution: create the epic with a clear name, add useful details, link the right issues, and verify how it appears on your board. I’ll walk you through each step so you can organize large initiatives confidently in Jira.
How to Create an Epic in Jira
To create an epic in Jira, open the relevant project, select Create, choose Epic as the issue type, add the epic’s name and details, and submit it. You can then connect stories, tasks, and bugs to the epic through the backlog, issue view, or planning tools.
Step 1: Open the Correct Jira Project
Start by opening the Jira project where the epic belongs. Your project determines its workflows, permissions, issue types, boards, and reporting options.
Check the project name before continuing. For example, a product team might have separate projects for mobile development, internal systems, and customer support.
Creating the epic in the wrong project can make it difficult to locate related work later. It can also prevent the epic from appearing on the board your team uses every day.
Step 2: Select the Create Issue Option
Choose Create from the Jira navigation menu. Jira will open a form where you can define a new work item.
Depending on your Jira configuration, you may see a project selector, issue type selector, or both. Select the project you checked in the previous step.
Use the issue type menu to choose Epic. If Epic does not appear, your project configuration or permissions may need attention.
Step 3: Add a Clear Epic Name
Enter a short name that quickly communicates the initiative. A strong epic name describes the outcome or capability the team is delivering.
- Customer self-service portal
- Mobile checkout redesign
- Enterprise billing improvements
- Automated security reporting
Avoid vague names such as “Phase 2,” “Big Project,” or “New Features.” Those labels provide little context when the epic appears in a backlog or report months later.
Step 4: Write a Useful Summary and Description
The summary should explain the epic in one sentence. The description can provide the business reason, scope, success criteria, and important boundaries.
For example, an epic called Mobile checkout redesign could include this description:
“Improve the mobile purchase experience by reducing checkout friction, supporting saved payment methods, and increasing successful order completion on smaller screens.”
You can also include acceptance conditions, stakeholders, related milestones, and links to relevant planning material. Keep the description focused enough that a new teammate can understand the initiative without asking for a separate explanation.
Step 5: Complete Important Fields
Jira may show additional fields such as priority, assignee, labels, components, target dates, or custom fields. The available fields depend on your project setup.
Complete fields that support planning and reporting. For example, a product team may use:
- Priority to show business urgency
- Component to identify the affected product area
- Labels to support filtering
- Start and target dates for timeline planning
- Assignee or owner for accountability
Avoid filling every optional field simply because it appears. Each field should help someone make a decision, find work, or understand progress.
Step 6: Create the Epic
Review the project, issue type, name, summary, and key planning fields. Then select Create.
Jira will assign the epic an issue key, such as SHOP-245. You can use that key to locate the epic, mention it in conversations, and connect related work.
If Jira displays an error, read the message carefully. Common causes include missing required fields, unavailable issue types, restricted permissions, or a workflow rule that needs additional information.
Step 7: Add Stories, Tasks, and Bugs
Creating the epic is only the beginning. Its value comes from connecting the smaller work items that contribute to the larger goal.
You can usually associate issues with an epic in one of several ways:
- Open an existing story and select the epic field
- Use the backlog’s epic panel
- Create a new issue from within the epic view
- Drag work items into the epic when your board supports that action
- Use Jira’s planning or roadmap tools
For example, the Mobile checkout redesign epic might include stories for saved cards, address autofill, order review, payment error handling, and responsive layout testing.
Step 8: Verify the Epic on Your Board
Open the project backlog or board and confirm that the epic appears where your team expects it. Check whether linked stories are visible and whether filters hide any related work.
Then open a few connected issues. Each one should show the correct epic relationship, status, assignee, and priority.
This quick review catches common mistakes before sprint planning. It also confirms that the epic supports the reports and views your team relies on.
What an Epic Means in Jira
An epic is a large body of related work that can be divided into smaller stories, tasks, and bugs. It gives your team a way to organize work around a significant feature, product goal, customer outcome, or technical initiative.
Imagine planning a new online checkout. The complete effort may involve design, frontend development, payment services, analytics, testing, and security review. Each part can become an issue connected to one epic.
Epic, Story, Task, and Subtask Differences
Jira’s issue hierarchy helps you represent different levels of work. The exact hierarchy can vary by Jira edition and configuration, but the common structure is easy to understand.
| Issue type |
Typical purpose |
| Epic |
A broad initiative that spans multiple pieces of work |
| Story |
A customer-facing requirement or usable capability |
| Task |
A specific piece of work that may support a story or initiative |
| Bug |
A defect that needs investigation and correction |
| Subtask |
A smaller action belonging to a story, task, or bug |
For instance, “Launch a loyalty program” could be an epic. “Allow customers to view points” might be a story, while “Add points balance endpoint” could be a task supporting that story.
When You Should Create an Epic
Create an epic when the work is too broad for one issue or sprint. A useful epic usually contains several related issues and represents a meaningful outcome.
You probably need an epic when:
- The initiative involves multiple roles or teams
- The work will continue across several sprints
- Several stories contribute to one customer outcome
- Leadership needs progress visibility at a higher level
- The team wants to group related work in reports
A small one-day request rarely needs an epic. Adding an extra planning layer can create clutter when a single task would provide enough visibility.
How to Write an Epic That Guides the Team
A well-written epic gives the team direction without prescribing every implementation detail. Think of it as a clear destination on a map: it shows where the work is going while leaving room for the team to choose the best route.
Start With the Outcome
Describe what should improve when the epic is complete. This makes the initiative easier to evaluate than a list of technical activities.
Compare these two examples:
- “Update APIs, redesign screens, and add analytics”
- “Help mobile shoppers complete purchases with fewer checkout errors”
The second example gives design, engineering, and testing teams a shared result to pursue. The technical activities can still appear in linked issues.
Define the Scope
State what the epic includes and what it does not include. Clear boundaries reduce the risk of unrelated requests being added halfway through delivery.
For a billing improvement epic, the scope might include invoice generation, payment status visibility, and failed-payment notifications. It might exclude a complete pricing model redesign planned for a later initiative.
Add Success Measures
Include measurable indicators when possible. A success measure could be a shorter processing time, fewer support requests, improved adoption, or completion of a required compliance activity.
For example, an account recovery epic might aim to reduce average recovery time from two days to a few minutes. The team can then judge whether the work created the intended improvement.
Identify Dependencies Early
Some epics depend on platform changes, vendor work, legal approval, security review, or another team’s delivery. Mention those dependencies before they affect the schedule.
Suppose a new payment method requires a contract review. Adding that dependency to the epic description helps the team plan the review instead of discovering it during the final sprint.
Ways to Connect Work to an Epic
Jira offers several paths for associating work with an epic. The best choice depends on whether you are planning new work, organizing existing issues, or reviewing progress.
Use the Backlog View
The backlog is often the fastest place to organize stories and tasks. Open the epic panel, find the relevant work item, and assign it to the appropriate epic.
This method is useful during refinement sessions. Your team can discuss a story, place it under an epic, estimate it, and decide whether it belongs in an upcoming sprint.
Update the Epic Field on an Issue
Open a story, task, or bug and edit its epic relationship. Search for the epic by name or issue key, then save the change.
This approach works well when someone creates an issue before the larger initiative has been finalized. You can connect the issue later without recreating it.
Create Work From the Epic View
Some Jira configurations let you create a story or task directly within an epic. Jira can automatically associate the new issue with that epic.
This reduces manual steps, especially when a product owner is breaking a broad outcome into smaller pieces during planning.
Use Planning and Roadmap Views
Roadmap and planning features can show epics alongside their related work, target dates, and dependencies. These views are useful when several initiatives compete for the same people or technical capacity.
For example, a release manager may compare a security epic, a mobile redesign epic, and a reporting epic before setting delivery targets.
How to Track Epic Progress in Jira
Creating an epic is useful only when progress remains visible. Jira can help you monitor status through boards, backlog views, reports, dashboards, and planning features.
Review Status Distribution
Check how many connected issues are in the backlog, in progress, blocked, ready for review, or complete. A high number of unfinished issues may indicate scope growth or a dependency problem.
For example, an epic with 20 stories may look healthy because eight are complete. However, if the remaining 12 all depend on one unavailable service, the completion count hides the real risk.
Watch for Scope Expansion
Compare the original epic scope with the current set of linked issues. New work can be reasonable, but constant additions may change the expected timeline.
Use labels, comments, or a separate follow-up epic to distinguish essential work from later enhancements. This keeps the current initiative easier to forecast.
Use Reports Carefully
Reports can show issue counts, progress trends, sprint completion, and time-related patterns. Treat those numbers as signals that need context.
If an epic shows 90 percent completion, ask whether the remaining work contains the hardest technical risk. A single unresolved issue can delay a launch even when most smaller tasks are finished.
Review Epic Health During Planning
Bring epic progress into sprint planning, backlog refinement, and review meetings. Discuss blocked work, missing acceptance criteria, dependencies, and changes in priority.
A short weekly review can prevent an epic from becoming a forgotten container filled with outdated issues.
Common Mistakes When Creating Jira Epics
Most epic problems come from unclear boundaries, weak naming, or missing relationships. The mistakes are easy to prevent when you know where to look.
Using an Epic as a General Bucket
A team may place unrelated requests under one broad epic because the work appears to belong to the same department. This makes progress difficult to interpret.
For example, “Marketing Work” could contain website updates, event planning, advertising experiments, and customer research. Separate initiatives would provide clearer ownership and reporting.
Making the Epic Too Large
An epic that covers an entire product transformation may remain open for years. It becomes difficult to estimate, prioritize, or close.
Break oversized initiatives into meaningful outcomes. Instead of one “Improve the platform” epic, consider separate epics for onboarding, search performance, billing, and reporting.
Creating Duplicate Epics
Two similar names can confuse the team. “Mobile checkout,” “Mobile checkout improvements,” and “Checkout mobile project” may describe one initiative.
Search before creating a new epic. If a similar one exists, clarify its scope or update its name rather than adding another container.
Leaving Related Issues Unconnected
Stories outside the epic make progress appear lower than it really is. They also weaken reports and make planning conversations harder.
During refinement, ask whether every issue contributes to an existing epic, belongs to a new initiative, or should remain independent.
Ignoring Permissions and Configuration
Some teams cannot create epics because their role lacks permission. Others may use a customized hierarchy or workflow that changes the standard Jira experience.
Ask a Jira administrator to check project permissions, issue type schemes, screens, and workflow rules when the expected option is missing.
Jira Epic Management Solution: ONES.com
ONES.com combines project management and knowledge management in one platform, with AI support through ONES Assistant. ONES Project provides project planning and execution capabilities as a Jira alternative, while ONES Wiki supports knowledge management as a Confluence alternative. They are sold separately.
The platform can suit teams that want Jira-compatible workflows, native reporting, customizable planning, and self-hosted deployment options. A free plan supports up to 30 seats, and teams can choose Cloud, On-Premise, Private Cloud, or Air-gapped deployment.
Value Proposition
ONES.com helps teams connect initiative planning, delivery work, and team knowledge without relying on a long chain of plugins. Its self-hosted options can also support organizations with stricter control requirements.
Core Capabilities
Scattered Initiative Tracking → Epic-Level Planning → Clearer Delivery Visibility
When large initiatives are spread across separate workspaces, teams lose context. ONES Project provides structured project planning so related stories, tasks, and milestones stay connected.
Rigid Workflows → Custom Workflows and Fields → Processes That Match Team Operations
Different teams often need different review stages. Custom workflows and fields let you represent approval, testing, security, or release steps more accurately.
Manual Sprint Organization → Sprint Management → More Predictable Iteration Planning
When sprint preparation happens through scattered conversations, work can enter an iteration without enough detail. Built-in sprint management gives teams a clearer place to plan, prioritize, and review delivery.
Limited Progress Context → Built-In Reporting → Faster Status Reviews
Simple issue counts can hide blocked work and changing scope. Built-in reporting helps teams inspect progress, trends, workload, and delivery signals in a more connected way.
Plugin Dependence → Native Capabilities → Fewer Moving Parts
Teams often add plugins to fill gaps in planning, automation, or reporting. Native capabilities can reduce compatibility concerns and simplify administration as the workspace grows.
Repetitive Coordination → Automation → Less Manual Follow-Up
Routine actions such as assigning work, updating statuses, or notifying a team can consume valuable attention. Automation handles repeatable rules so people can focus on decisions and delivery.
Deployment Restrictions → On-Premise, Private Cloud, and Air-Gapped Options → Greater Environment Control
Some organizations cannot place project information in a public cloud environment. ONES.com offers four deployment choices, including On-Premise, Private Cloud, and Air-gapped setups.
Migration Concerns → Full Feature Parity → More Consistent Administration
Teams may hesitate to change deployment models when capabilities differ between hosted and self-managed versions. ONES.com provides full feature parity between its cloud and self-hosted versions.
Application Scenarios
Product Teams Managing Cross-Functional Initiatives
A product group launching a subscription feature can organize discovery, design, development, testing, and release activities under one initiative. Stakeholders can review progress without requesting separate updates from every specialist.
Regulated Engineering Organizations
An engineering organization with restricted network requirements can use an air-gapped deployment. Teams still manage workflows, sprints, custom fields, and reporting within the controlled environment.
Organizations Consolidating Project and Knowledge Work
A growing company may use ONES Project for delivery and ONES Wiki for planning guidance, product decisions, and technical knowledge. Keeping those capabilities within ONES.com can make information easier to find during execution.
Common Challenges When Working With Jira Epics
Challenge: The Epic Option Is Missing
Possible cause: Your role may lack permission, or the project may use an issue configuration without Epic enabled.
Solution: Ask a Jira administrator to review project permissions, issue type schemes, screens, and workflow settings. Confirm that you are creating the issue in the intended project.
Challenge: Stories Do Not Appear Under the Epic
Possible cause: The stories may use a different epic relationship, belong to another project, or be hidden by a board filter.
Solution: Open an affected story and inspect its epic field. Then review board filters and backlog settings to confirm that the connected work is visible.
Challenge: The Epic Has Too Many Issues
Possible cause: The epic has become a general container for related department work.
Solution: Revisit the intended outcome. Move unrelated issues to a better epic, create a follow-up initiative, or split the scope into smaller outcomes.
Challenge: Progress Looks Better Than Reality
Possible cause: Completed low-effort tasks may represent most of the issue count, while complex work remains blocked.
Solution: Review issue size, dependencies, risk, and remaining acceptance criteria alongside completion percentages.
Challenge: Team Members Use Different Names
Possible cause: The epic title does not establish a shared vocabulary.
Solution: Use a concise outcome-focused name and explain the initiative in the description. Mention the epic key in planning conversations when several initiatives have similar names.
FAQs About Creating Jira Epics
Can I create an epic from the Jira backlog?
In many Jira configurations, you can create an epic directly from the backlog’s epic panel. Open the relevant project, find the epic area, and choose the option to add an epic. If that control is unavailable, use the global Create action and select Epic. Project permissions and Jira configuration can affect which method appears.
Why can’t I see Epic as an issue type?
The Epic issue type may be unavailable because of project permissions, an issue type scheme, a customized hierarchy, or a screen configuration. First, confirm that you selected the intended project. If Epic still does not appear, ask a Jira administrator to inspect the project’s issue types and your create-issue permission.
How many stories should an epic contain?
There is no universal number. An epic should contain enough related work to represent a meaningful initiative, while remaining small enough to plan and close within a reasonable period. If it covers several unrelated outcomes or remains open across many planning cycles, split it into separate epics.
Can one story belong to more than one epic?
In standard Jira planning, a story generally belongs to one epic relationship at a time. If the story supports multiple initiatives, decide which outcome owns it and use links, labels, or other planning relationships to show additional connections. This keeps epic progress easier to interpret.
Can I change an epic after creating it?
Yes. You can usually edit its name, summary, description, priority, labels, dates, and other available fields. You can also add or remove related issues. Make changes carefully when reports or planning views already rely on the epic, and communicate major scope changes to the team.
Should every Jira project use epics?
No. Epics are useful when work spans multiple issues, teams, or sprints. A small project with a few independent tasks may not need them. Use an epic when it improves planning, reporting, or shared understanding rather than adding another layer automatically.
Conclusion
Creating an epic in Jira takes only a few minutes, but thoughtful setup determines whether it remains useful. Choose the correct project, select Epic, write an outcome-focused name, define the scope, add relevant fields, and connect the work that supports the initiative.
Then verify the epic on your board and review its progress regularly. Clear boundaries prevent clutter, while meaningful success measures reveal whether the initiative is actually moving forward.
When epic tracking becomes fragmented or difficult to maintain, a platform such as ONES.com can provide another project management approach with Jira-compatible workflows, built-in reporting, custom workflows, automation, and flexible deployment options.