Epic – in Agile

An Epic in Agile is a large body of work that can be broken down into smaller, more manageable parts called user stories. It represents a significant business goal or feature that spans multiple iterations or sprints.

Epics help organize and prioritize complex work across teams by providing a high-level view of requirements. They are essential in Agile project planning, especially for roadmapping and strategic alignment. Typically tracked using Agile tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or Rally, epics ensure that the development effort remains connected to overall product objectives and customer needs.

Key Aspects

• An epic provides a broad objective that is too large to be completed in a single sprint, so it is divided into multiple user stories.
• Agile teams use epics to maintain focus on long-term goals while managing day-to-day development tasks within sprints.
• Epics are prioritized in the product backlog and evolve over time as more details emerge through backlog refinement sessions.
• Common Agile tools such as Jira and Azure DevOps allow teams to track, update, and visualize epics throughout the development lifecycle.
• Stakeholders rely on epics to understand how specific features contribute to larger business outcomes or user needs.

Large-Scale Structure

Epics serve as a container for smaller pieces of work, enabling teams to manage large ideas without becoming overwhelmed by detail. They allow stakeholders and developers to group related functionality together in a meaningful way.

By organizing work into epics, project managers and product owners can keep high-level goals visible while also guiding the breakdown into sprint-level tasks. This approach helps bridge long-term planning with short-term action and keeps development on track.

Sprint Planning Connection

Although epics are too large to be completed within one sprint, they directly influence how sprint work is planned. As epics are decomposed into user stories, those stories become candidates for upcoming sprints.

This process allows Agile teams to work incrementally toward the broader goals outlined in each epic. Regular sprint reviews and backlog refinement sessions ensure that epic progress is monitored and adjusted as needed.

Backlog and Prioritization

Epics are often stored in the product backlog alongside smaller user stories and tasks. Their placement in the backlog reflects business priorities, development capacity, and customer needs.

During planning meetings, product owners review epics to assess whether they should be broken down further or reprioritized. This helps ensure that the most important work gets done first, even when managing complex or evolving requirements.

Agile Tool Integration

Most Agile tools support epic tracking by offering visual dashboards, linking functionality, and reporting features. These tools help teams see how progress on stories and tasks rolls up into the epic level.

For example, in Jira, an epic can be assigned a label, timeline, and status while being linked to all related stories. This makes reporting progress and coordinating cross-functional work across development teams easier.

Business Alignment

Epics often represent features or capabilities that tie directly to business goals. By focusing on epics, organizations ensure that technical work stays aligned with broader strategic objectives and user value.

Product managers use epics to communicate with stakeholders, showing how different development activities contribute to customer satisfaction, market demands, or operational improvements.

Conclusion

Epics in Agile provide structure for large goals by organizing related work into smaller, deliverable pieces. They are essential for connecting detailed development tasks to meaningful business outcomes.

What are Agile Epics, User Stories, and Story Points? – 7 mins