The Epic hierarchy is a feature of JIRA Software, which itself used to be an add-on for JIRA.
It adds an Epic Link field to issues that are children of the Epic issue type.
I'm fairly certain it's impossible to apply that to different issue types using standard JIRA settings.
There's a very similar question with good answers here - https://answers.atlassian.com/questions/38385869
As Quentin Bellégo mentioned, there are numerous plugins that provide custom hierarchies.
You'll find that all of those plugins have plenty of additional features besides hierarchy. Structure (disc. - I work for its creators) for all sorts of management, reporting & overview; Portfolio for planning; Links Hierarchy is probably unrivalled for visualising complex linked relationships, etc.
Example screenshot from Links Hierarchy:
In JIRA you have the following hierarchy :
And in Software Project :
If you want to create other hierarchy level you can use some add-on like Structure, Portfolio, Links Hierarchy etc.
Thanks for the reply. Is there any possible way to create a customize issue type which has same hierarchy levels like an "epic" in JIRA Itself without using any other add-on?
Robert Leitch [ALM Works] : Thanks alot for you Reply. I am using Portfolio plugins for creating Hierarchy levels. The problem I am facing right now is that I am not able to add Epic (by default) in the Level List. Please find the image below.
image2017-3-17 13:35:4.png
Thanks.
Epic is already in the list, along with Story and Sub-Task.
Portfolio only puts numbers beside custom hierarchy levels, maybe that's causing some confusion?
You should be able to rename them and map them to different issue types:
image2017-3-20 13:3:16.png
image2017-3-20 13:4:7.png
If you're not able to edit those fields, then there's probably a permissions problem.
I don't think it would be a good idea to remap the Epic-Story-SubTask part.
If you definitely want to use Portfolio but can't use the prescribed configuration because it doesn't match your real-life processes, my recommendation would be to contact an Atlassian Expert (these are accredited partners of Atlassian) for assistance. It's very possible that you'll save time and money in the long run.
First Expert that comes to mind is cPrime, we work closely with them and I know they specifically offer configuration & setup services.
Robert Leitch [ALM Works] : Thanks alot for the reply. My concern is that I am not able to add "epic" in hierarchy level. I want it to be at level-2, after initiative but I am not able to move it. Thus when I am creating an issue on board >>> epic, I can't connect it with the initiative as a parent link (As I can't see the previously created "Initiative" in the "Parent Link" list). Please find the image below.
image2017-3-20 9:40:50.png
Okay, when you click on the Parent Link dropdown, does it offer you a list of issues with issuetype 'Initiative', or is it empty? It should look something like this:
image2017-3-20 17:5:47.png
Hello, Sorry to comment on this old thread. Wanted to confirm that this is still true. So we cannot configure hierarchy levels higher than Epics (as detailed in the below link) using JIRA without installing any of the paid add-ons like Portfolio for JIRA ?
https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/epics-stories-themes
But really annoying limitation. Seem odd why such
It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
![Photo of Robert Leitch [ALM Works]](https://us.v-cdn.net/6038660/uploads/avatars/77/5e/n775ee2fea1f846748ba794bbe35e671b.png)
