Sum up log work to a epic based on the issues that are linked to a epic

sachin reddy May 12, 2017

I have 9issues attached to a epic, and I have logged the work for each issue and I see that it didn't automatically sum up to the epic. Can you please help me understand how exactly does the logging time work for an epic.

I see that in the backlog I can't estimate time for an epic , I want to see in total how much time did I spend on one epic in total which has multiple issues linked to it.

Well I am using tempo here to log work

4 answers

7 votes
Eva Kasiak May 15, 2017

are your issues = Story ? or issues = Tasks? The structure of Epic is following

Epic/Story/Task/Sub Task

Once you create Epic, then click Create Issue in Epic link and create Story, then beneath create Task etc. You can log the time using standard Log Time functionality for Story, Task and as long as the structure is ok you will start seeing the overal time estimates/time logged. 

You can estimate time for Epic but not directly. In Scrum Epic is umbrella, big placeholder for bigger piece of functionality, in order to deliver Epic you need to deliver Stories/Task and these are the one to estimate

See here my epics are not estimated - it is Stories and Tasks which are estimated and then JIRA summarized them and displayed what is overal time estimates given to deliver Epic. 

Tempo or standard JIRA Log time functionality is ok, but you need to get the Scrum structure right firstly. 

Screen Shot 2017-05-15 at 11.36.56.png

Sehreen Jafry July 15, 2022

Hi there. My Epic structure is exactly as you have mentioned over here. Which field on the issue screen coincides with the 'Estimate' field in the above screenshot .

I added the estimates to my user stories under the field 'Original estimate', when I checked the Epic level, I still see a zero.

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7 votes
Walter Buggenhout
Community Leader
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May 13, 2017

If you are using Tempo, you could use the Timesheet Report. Build a JQL filter to fetch all the issues related to your epic ("Epic Link" = [key of your Epic]). Save the filter and use it as the source for your Timesheet Report.

This approach might be slightly unpractical, as it will require you to leave the context of your Epic. Other add-ons like Epic Sum Up and Structure can help you visualise this information much more easily and in the context of you issue itself.

Ashwin Naik April 14, 2020

Hi Walter

 I have a related question to Epic Sum Up.

We have this plug-in and  it rolls up all the time spent for the stories/tasks under this Epic correctly and I am able to see the rolledup "Time Spent" on the ticket.

My question is can we pull this "time spent" field rolledup on a Epic and have it in my JQL as one of the Output columns ?

Any help be highly appreciated

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Håvard Korsvoll June 30, 2020

Yes, this can be done in the Server version of Epic Sum Up. You must configure a custom field as it is described here: https://confluence-public.aptis.info/display/ESU/Custom+Fields

This is not possible in the cloud version of Epic Sum Up though.

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1 vote
Yatish Madhav
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October 9, 2023

I have noticed many post like this, though it seems something is missed or it is flying over my head.

With trigger Issue created this doesnt work well. For trigger Work logged for all operations, does the update or delete of task worklogs reflect on the Epic? I noticed that if it is updated, the new time is added to the epic and if existing worklog is deleted, that same time is added to the Epic. Both of these seem incorrect. Also, it does not look like we can identify if it is added , updated/deleted.

Any idea please?

Yatish Madhav
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October 11, 2023

Here is a screen grab. The add work log, update work log and delete work log all log the time additionally to the Epic where it should actually add/update/delete accordingly. i.e expecting the Epic to have the same work log total as the child issues, but the Epic simple appends the total that is added, updated and delted as well.

Hope that helps in helping me :)

Screenshot from 2023-10-10 17-10-31.png

Thank you

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0 votes
Rhys Diab _Agile Docs_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
October 15, 2019

Hi Sachin,

You can use Agile Docs to sum up logged hours of issues in your Epics.

You can also see how far along your issues are based on the progress of sub-tasks.

time-tracking-tree.png Or, if you want a zoomed-out view of Epics only, you can uncheck "Expand All Epics”:

time-tracking-collapsed-epics.pngIn addition, you can use your existing Quick Filters to locate any set of Epics you like.

Hope that helps!

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