Best way to deal with multiple Epics

[Max Berg]

My project involves about 10 stages. Each of those stage will be an Epic and from there I want to create a Task that goes from the first stage to the last. What would be the best way to do this and track in a board? I want to make it easy for the user updating their Task to move to the correct stage. I also want to make sure that when a user creates their Task, it goes to the first stage without having the user to manually choose it.

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Max Berg 

Can I clarify how this Project is formed at present?

You have...

• One Jira Project - which is just for your team?
• 10 stages to this Project - each of which is an Epic?
• Tasks which need to flow through all 10 stages?

The reason for these questions is...

• If you are sharing a Jira Project with other teams - it might be easier to split into your own Project for customisations
• What's the purpose of the Epics representing the 10 stages?

As suggested by Carlos, Workflows/Statuses might be the best approach - but understanding what these stages represent could also be useful to help with recommendations.

Could you explain what the 10 stages are in relation to overall Project delivery?

Ste

[Max Berg]

Currently, the single project is formed with a Scrum Board and a Kanban board. I'm looking to create a second Kanban board in that same project.

The plan is to have 10 stages be an Epic per stage. It doesn't have to be Epic, could be statuses like Carlos suggested but then those statuses would appear to the other boards as well when updating their tasks.

The tasks will need to flow through all 10 stages.

Our single team is responsible for the existing boards (scrum/kanban) and a second kanban board if we make create one. 

If we do decide to go the route of creating a completely separate project, would there be better options to go with instead of Kanban board? Like Process or Project Management?

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Max Berg 

But what is a stage in relation to this piece of work?

Is it a process (eg. To Do > In Progress > Done)? Or are these releases? Or large segments of a Project (eg. Discovery, Ideation, etc)?

The best recommendations will be determined by how the work itself needs to be structured and reported on.

Ste

[Max Berg]

Hello @Ste Wright

It's more of a workflow.

Example of what it would look like.

Identify issue -> Fix code -> Test code -> Merge code -> Validate fix -> Scan Environment -> Fix RND -> Fix UAT -> Fix QA -> Fix  Prod -> Rescan Environment -> Done

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Max Berg 

I'd suggest...

• Creating a Workflow which tracks the stages a Task goes through end-to-end
• If each of these stages is also an Epic - consider if this is the right approach, as the Tasks would cut across "all Epics"
  • For example, the Epics could be grouped per product, or per release, etc
  • Epics might also need to move through a Workflow similar to Tasks

---

Based on the comment about multiple boards, I assume you're using a Company-managed Project? This is the best option when making customisations like this.

You also mentioned that there are other Boards in use within your Project - does this mean other users are using the existing Epic/Task workflows for other unrelated work?

If this is the case I would recommend...

• Considering if a new Issue Type could be created for this work - to separate it from the Task. Each Issue Type can have a different Workflow
• Whether the Epic's existing Workflow could work for this work also
• If either is "no" - whether creating a new Project just for this work would be beneficial - Workflows can differ between Projects for the same Issue Types

---

In terms of modifying your Project...

• Issue Types: See this page on how to create new Issue Types, and this page for how to associate them with Projects
• Workflows: See this help page for a good starting point on Workflows

---

You also mentioned a concern about modifying the Workflow impacting other Boards. 

Boards in Company-managed Projects are not limited to a specific Project. Instead, they represent an Issue Search Filter, which could include multiple Projects, or a subset of Issues, etc.

So for example, a Board can be limited to show...

• A specific set of Epics and/or Tasks, or any other Issue Type. The Board Filter controls what is shown on a Board.
  • For example, you could mark all your Epics/Tasks with a specific label, then filter for this label on the board to exclude all "other" Issues
• A specific set of Statuses - or a subsection of one Workflow - using the columns settings.
  • For example, you could have two boards for your one Workflow - the first board showing the first 6 stages, and the second the latter 6

For more information on how to configure boards, see this help page: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/configure-a-company-managed-board/

---

Let us know what you think :)

Ste

[Carlos Garcia Navarro]

Hi @Max Berg ,

Welcome to the Community! If I understand correctly, I'd suggest to use statuses for the different stages. Then you can set up the workflow and the corresponding transitions as you need: https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/work-with-issue-workflows/

[Max Berg]

Thank you. I forgot to mention that there are multiple other boards inside the project. If I add statuses or create a custom workflow, won't that affect every other boards inside this single project? Is there a way to seperate it?

[Carlos Garcia Navarro]

Changes to existing issues or workflows can impact other boards in the project. Can you create or use a  dedicated issue issue type to which you could assign the workflow that fits your use case?