Here is a breakdown of the standard Jira hierarchy for clarity:
| Hierarchy Level | Description & Relationship | Common Issue Types at This Level |
|---|---|---|
| Project | A container for organizing all related work. | N/A |
| Epic | A large body of work within a project, spanning multiple sprints. It groups related Stories and Tasks. | Epic |
| Story / Task | An individual work item that contributes to an Epic. Stories are user-focused, while Tasks are general work. These are considered "standard-level" issues. | Story, Task, Bug |
| Sub-task | A small, actionable step that breaks down a Story or Task. A Sub-task must have a parent Story/Task and cannot exist on its own. | Sub-task |
A key point of confusion is the relationship between Stories and Tasks.
- Stories and Tasks are Siblings: In Jira's default setup, Stories and Tasks exist at the same hierarchy level. You cannot natively set a Task as a direct child of a Story in the same way a Sub-task is.
- The Common Workaround: To create an
Epic > Story > Taskstructure, you typically have to use issue linking. However, native Jira views like the backlog won't visually display this linked "Task" as a child of the "Story" in a hierarchy. Specialized apps or Advanced Roadmaps are needed for proper visualization.
For larger organizations needing more levels:
- Initiatives: Jira Premium and Enterprise allow creating levels above Epics, such as Initiatives, which group multiple Epics together toward a broad strategic goal.
- Customization: Administrators can rename hierarchy levels and, in premium plans, create custom levels to fit specific workflow terms like "Feature" or "Program."
Epics, Stories, and Tasks all reside within a Project. The main nuance is that Tasks and Stories are peers, and the clean Story > Task parent-child relationship requires a non-default setup.