In Jira Team-managed projects, the hierarchy of issue types is fixed and much more limited than in Company-managed projects:
Epic (top level)
Story / Task / Bug / Custom types (all at the same level under Epic)
Sub-task (nested under stories/tasks/bugs/custom types)
Unfortunately, in Team-managed projects you cannot insert a new hierarchy level between Epic and Story. Any new “work type” (issue type) you create—like your desired Feature—will sit at the same level as Story, Task, or Bug. It can be linked to Epics but won’t become a distinct level in the hierarchy.
Create a new issue type “Feature” in your Team-managed project settings → Issue types.
This will appear at the same level as “Story”.
You can still associate Features with Epics using the “Epic link” field.
But Features and Stories will be peers, not a true hierarchy.
If you require a true Epic → Feature → Story hierarchy:
You must use a Company-managed project. In that project type, admins can define custom issue type hierarchies through Issue type schemes and Advanced Roadmaps (Plans).
There you can explicitly define Epic → Feature → Story → Sub-task.
Workarounds in Team-managed projects (if you cannot switch):
Use a custom field or label to distinguish Features from Stories.
Use issue linking (e.g. “is parent of / is child of”) to model Features containing Stories.
Use Epics only for Features and treat large initiatives as “Epics” instead, then Stories under them.
✅ Bottom line: In your current Team-managed project, you can add “Feature” as a new issue type, but you cannot nest it between Epic and Story in the hierarchy. To get a real Feature level, you’ll need a Company-managed project with Advanced Roadmaps.
Do you want me to walk you through how to migrate your project to Company-managed so you can get the proper hierarchy, or would you prefer tips for the workarounds inside Team-managed?
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