Is there a best practice for number of levels of hierarchy in portfolio?

[Bamini Subramanian]

I am trying to understand how this community is using different hierarchy levels in portfolio and how the different levels are defined. I am trying to implement portfolio management and wanted some guidance on how the different levels are used by portfolio, program and teams. 

[Ste · Accepted solution]

Hi @Bamini Subramanian

I would advise you create the number of levels necessary to visualise your organisation's Portfolio.

There are going to be lots of great suggestions on the right number of levels - but what you have to remember is Jira isn't mapping your organisation's work structure - you should apply it to Jira / Portfolio to get you the best view of your own data.

One of the most common methods I've used is:

• Initiative: Project-level - an objective or goal, often multi-year in size
• Feature: A sizeable chunk of work, with isolated value that can be delivered at completion
• Epic / Story / Sub-task

[Bamini Subramanian]

Thank you for responding, and I have taken your advise to look more closely at the organisation's structure and needs. We have landed on Theme, Initiative and Feature. Of course it is going to be evolving, but it is a start.