When to use Epic versus Component feature in Jira Project that contains Hardware and Software

G_v37qal

Hello Community, 

I am part of a team working on a Product Development utilizing Jira as the primary tool. We have several different disciplines working on the project, and the product has requirements, epics and stories.  I just noticed the "components" feature in Jira and was wondering how people use this...are there examples of when to use the components feature vs Epics?  

Bert Dombrecht

Hi,

We use both in our software projects.

Epics are issue types, used as high level deliverables that are broken into smaller stories. The epic follows a workflow and  is closed once it is completed (released). You can estimate, plan and track your progress on a deliverable using the epics. (The workflow can also be automated, based on the stories within the epic).

Components however, is a field in the project. You can create multiple components in your project, for example: 'database', 'client', 'ETL', 'server' etc.) It can be used as a field on any issue (epic, story, bug, incident, etc.)

You can filter issues on a board based on components for example.

You can also define a component lead and let Jira assign new issues automatically, based on the selected component. For example, if there is an incident linked to the 'database', it can be assigned to the correct person automatically.