epic->feature->user story linking while updating the progress

[David Dsouza]

Hello, In my office, we were told that have a structure as Epic->feature-> user story. but I read from many users that, there are problems in linking  or updating the tasks; as epic progress does not get updated.

my questions is,

1) is this the right framework epic->feature-> user story?

secondly,

2) how to do linking epic to feature to user story to task? 

so that epic progress gets updated when task progress is updated?

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

Welcome to the community, @David Dsouza. First, you have to keep in mind Jira Software is built around the assumption that most Jira Software customers use an (Agile) Epic > Story > Subtask hierarchy. 

It sounds like your company, along with many others, prefers a different hierarchy. You are not alone. Many companies use their own, preferred hierarchies. It sounds like yours may be SAFe(?) based, for example.

But that's okay, Jira is also very flexible. So, you can create and use any issue hierarchy you'd like.

But, if you choose to do that, you need to do it thoughtfully. Be wary of using the out-of-the-box Jira link types that are purposely built around the Epic > Story > Subtask hierarchy. These have special properties that work well when you strictly follow that hierarchy, but may behave in unexpected ways if you use a different hierarchy.

If I am right about the SAFe assumption, or even if I am not, this article may shed some light.

I hope this helps, 

-dave [ALM Works]

[David Dsouza]

Thanks Dave. I am not yet sure if my organization is about SAFe.

but can we not use Epic-> feature-> stories?  stories can be treated as subtask?

is my understanding correct?

and if I use this framework epic-> feature-> stories, what will be the challenges?

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

That's okay, @David Dsouza. Whether they are using SAFe or not, you can create the hierarchy (parent-child relationships) you describe above. There is no right or wrong way (IMO). You just have to keep in mind that Jira expects you to use an Epic > Story > Sub-task hierarchy.

You CAN add a Feature issue type, and use an Epic > Feature > Story hierarchy. You just have to be careful about how you decide to link the issues — which is where the aforementioned article may help. It describes some of the "gotchas."

-dave