what is an epic in jira

Quick Scoop

An epic in Jira is a large body of work that can be broken down into smaller items like stories, tasks, or issues. It usually represents a bigger goal or feature and may span multiple sprints or teams.

What it means

In Jira, an epic acts like a parent container for related work. For example, if you’re launching a new website, the epic might be “Website Launch,” while the stories under it cover design, content, testing, and deployment.

Why teams use it

• To organize big work into manageable pieces.

• To track progress at a high level across multiple tasks or sprints.

• To keep related issues grouped around one objective.

Epic vs. story

Item| What it is
---|---
Epic| A large goal or feature made up of smaller work items. 910
Story| A smaller, specific unit of work that helps complete the epic. 7

If you want, I can also show you how to create an epic in Jira or give you a real example.