Difference between 'Issue Links' and 'Issues in Epic'

[Lorie Whitaker]

Context: I'm a UX Researcher using JIRA. It's been a while since I lasted used it (many years) and our current environ is set up for Eng but we are being told to use it.  I was the scrum master last time I used it, but things were set up for me. We will use it to manage our workload in 2 week sprints. 

What is the difference between 'Issue Links' and 'Issues in epic'?  

Right now, I've created Epics with Stories and Stories with Tasks. I've done this by using the 'parent task of' or 'child task of' option and pointing it back to the Epic or Story as needed.

But now I'm not sure if I've done this right as I don't know if I should have done those under the 'Issues in Epic' section instead. But then again, I'm not sure what the overall difference in having these in the 'Issue Links' section vs the 'Issues in Epic' section is.

[Ollie Guan · Accepted solution]

Hi @Lorie Whitaker ,

The difference between Jira 'Issue Links' and 'Issues in Epic' can be summarized as follows:

Issue Links

• Purpose: Used to create relationships between any two issues in Jira.

• Types: Various link types such as "blocks", "is blocked by", "duplicates", "relates to", etc.

• Flexibility: Can link any issue to any other issue, regardless of their type or project.

• Usage: Useful for showing dependencies, duplicates, or any other custom relationships between issues.

Issues in Epic

• Purpose: Specifically used to group multiple issues under a single Epic.

• Types: Only relates to the Epic and its child issues (stories, tasks, etc.).

• Flexibility: Limited to the Epic and its child issues within the same project.

• Usage: Useful for organizing and tracking a large body of work that can be broken down into smaller tasks or stories.

In summary, 'Issue Links' provide a flexible way to relate any two issues, while 'Issues in Epic' are specifically for grouping and managing tasks within an Epic.

[Marc - Devoteam · Accepted solution]

HI @Lorie Whitaker 

Issue Links have a linear connection to the set linked issue. This can be inward or outward.
the link between issues is always bi-directional

With issues in Epic there is a Parent/Child relation, based on the Parent field in Jira (Cloud) or Epic Link (Data Center)

This article you provide guidance on the Parent/Epic Link, https://www.atlassian.com/agile/tutorials/epics