ISSUE TYPE HIERARCHY

[Sonika Chitral]

Hi, Current Jira model, gives hierarchy as --> create feature / story --> we can then create only subtasks instead of a hierarchy like epic --> story / feature --> task --> subtask, is there a way to create hierarchy like mentioned above??

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Sonika Chitral 

Welcome to the Atlassian community.

The native hierarchy is

Level 1: Epic
|-- Level 0: "standard" types
    |-- Level -1: subtask types

Depending on the template you use to create your project/space, Epic or Subtasks may not automatically be included in the project/space configuration.

If you have a Premium subscription then you can add more levels above Level 1/Epic. You cannot insert a level between 1 and 0. You could rename the Epic to "Feature" and add a new Level 2 and call that "Epic". That is available only with the Premium or Enterprise plans.

[Rahul_RVS]

Hi @Sonika Chitral 

Welcome to the community !!

To extend Jira standard hierarchy beyond 3 levels, you can use Issue Links to create your own hierarchy. However to view the issues and their children in a tree / hierarchy view you would need Jira Plans (comes with Jira Premium) or a 3rd party app to help with. If you are open to try out a mktplace solution, you can have a look at our app,

Issue Hierarchy

The app allows you to view your Issue Hierarchy  in a tree view. You can have any Issue Type at any level.
In the hierarchy view you can also view the % progress of your child issues as well. The app sums up the time spent / story points at each parent level. You can also group and filter the data as per the use case.. Do give it a try.

Disclaimer : I am one of the app team member

[Olga Cheban _TitanApps_]

hi @Sonika Chitral ! Welcome to the community!

This is a Jira limitation rather than a configuration issue. By default, Jira’s standard hierarchy is Epic → Standard issue (Story / Task / Bug) → Sub-task. This hierarchy can be partially customized if you’re using Jira Premium or Enterprise with Jira Plans (Advanced Roadmaps). Jira Plans let you introduce custom issue types above Epic, such as Initiatives or Themes.

Despite this, even with Jira Plans, the issue hierarchy is fixed at the lower levels. You can’t add new levels below Epic, insert an extra level between stories and sub-tasks, or create multiple sub-task layers. In all Jira editions, Sub-task remains the lowest possible level in the hierarchy.

However, I can suggest a workaround. You can use checklists to add one more hierarchy level below the subtask. 

As a result, your hierarchy will look like this:

Epic (1) ->  User Story (0) -> Subtask (used instead of Task) (-1) -> Checklist items (used instead of Subtasks) (-2)

Here's an example of what it looks like:

You can add such checklists with the help of our solution, Smart Checklist for Jira.
It allows you to use checklists as a substitute for tasks or subtasks. For example, you can:

- tag responsible people

- add deadlines

- set custom workflow statuses for each checklist item

- add links, images, and details to the expandable sections below each checklist item

- save checklists as reusable templates and auto-add them to standard tasks

I hope this helps!

[Nikola Perisic]

Welcome @Sonika Chitral 

Looking at your product plan it says free. This feature is available from Premium plan:

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