How to add child, grandchild, and great grandchildren to an item

[John Ashmead]

I'm trying to match a work requirement that there be:

1. A top item
2. zero or more intermediate folders
3. A bottom item

The simplest case is easy:  I add a subtask to the top or a parent to bottom.  But I'm finding it tricky to get three levels:

1. top item
2. intermediate folder
3. bottom item

and impossible to get four or more levels, e.g.:

1. top
2. top folder
3. bottom folder
4. bottom item

I seem to be running into restrictions by work item type (i.e. Epic or not) and project (easier to add some links within a project).  But even with an Epic at the top and within a specific project, I can't get to the fourth level. Help!  TIA! -- John Ashmead

[Trudy Claspill · Accepted solution]

Hello @John Ashmead 

Jira natively supports a 3-level hierarchy:

Level 1 - Epics
|-- Level 0 - "standard" issue types
    |-- Level -1 - "subtask" issue types

You can add levels above Epic when you have a Premium or Enterprise Jira plan by modifying the hierarchy:

https://support.atlassian.com/jira-cloud-administration/docs/configure-the-issue-type-hierarchy/

Note that the parent/child relationship is supported only between tangent levels. Level 1 can have children from Level 0, but not from Level -1.

Also note that you can only build upwards. You cannot insert levels between the three native levels.

And, finally, note that the hierarchy is globally applied to Company Managed projects. You cannot currently define project specific hierarchies.

However if you are working with Team Managed projects those project cannot have more than the native 3 levels, period. To support a level above Epics you modify the global Hierarchy as described in the above documentation, then you must use a Company Managed project to hold the issues created for types above Level 1. Issue types from levels 2 and above can't be created directly in TM projects. You can then make the Epic in the TM project a child of the Level 2 issue in the Company Managed project.

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Advanced-planning-articles/Parenting-a-team-managed-epic-with-a-company-managed-initiative/ba-p/2638197

After digesting that information, let us know if you have additional questions.