Organize and track your issues with Epics

Pro

Epics help you group related tasks into a larger work item, providing a hierarchical structure for managing complex projects. This feature is ideal for breaking down major objectives into smaller, manageable pieces while keeping everything organized within a project.

Use Epics when you need to:

• Organize tasks related to a larger objective or feature.
• Track progress and dependencies across multiple related issues.
• Improve visibility into how individual tasks contribute to broader goals.

tip

Use an Epic for larger bodies of work that span multiple cycles and extend across different modules.

Enable Epics

To start using Epics, enable the feature for your project:

1. Go to the Project settings for the desired project.
2. Navigate to the Epics section on the right pane.
3. Click the Enable button.

Once enabled, the Epics tab will appear in the project's sidebar, giving you quick access to create and manage Epics.

Add custom properties to Epics

Custom properties allow you to add specialized fields to your Epics, helping you track additional information specific to your project's needs. These properties can be configured to capture various types of data.

To add custom properties to an Epic:

1. Click the Add new property button on the Epics pane.
2. In the Custom Properties section, fill in the following fields:
   • Title: Enter a name for your property
   • Description: Add details about what this property represents
   • Property type: Select from the available options:
     • Text: For free-form text input
     • Number: For numerical values
     • Dropdown: For predefined selection options
     • Boolean: For yes/no or true/false values
     • Date: For temporal information
     • Member picker: For assigning team members

Create Epics

Follow these steps to create a new Epic:

1. Navigate to the Epics section under your project.
2. Click the New Epic button at the top right of the screen.
3. Provide the following details:
   • Title: Name your Epic.
   • Description: Add context for the Epic’s purpose.
   • Properties: Assign metadata like priority, assignees, labels, and due dates.
4. Click Save to create the Epic.

View and manage Epics

Once created, all Epics can be accessed from the Epics section under your project. The Epics screen provides a high-level view of all Epics within a project.

Sort and filter Epics

To help you manage Epics effectively, Plane offers flexible sorting and filtering options.

Clicking on an Epic opens a detailed view where you can quickly view and manage an Epic without leaving your current context.

Add issues to Epic

You can add existing issues to the Epic or create new ones directly from the Epic.

important

An issue can belong to only one Epic. This ensures clarity in organization and avoids overlapping tasks across multiple Epics.

Issues list and relations

• See the full list of issues grouped under the Epic.
• Add or remove issues from the Epic.
• Manage issues directly by updating their status, assignee, or priority.

Epic progress

You can track Epic progress visually with a color-coded progress bar that shows:

• Task completion status (e.g., Overdue, Backlog, Started, Completed).
• Issue counts and completion percentage for each status category.

Properties, comments, and activity

• View and update the Epic’s key properties like assignee, priority, timelines, and other custom properties.

• Add comments to collaborate with your team and to discuss progress, blockers, or updates.

• Access the activity log for a history of changes made to the Epic, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Link Issues to Epics

For each issue, you can assign or change an issue's Epic directly in the Parent property.

Example use cases

• Product development: Use Epics to group tasks for new feature rollouts.
• Marketing campaigns: Organize deliverables like content creation, design, and ads under a single Epic.
• Bug fixing: Track related issues for a major bug-fixing sprint.

Epics provide a simple yet powerful way to manage larger goals while keeping your projects organized and your team aligned.