How Can I Create Issue Type that Mirrors Epic

[jennifer miller]

At my previous employer, we had our JIRA board set up so that we had an issue type called 'Feature' that user stories could roll up to using a 'Feature Link' field - exactly how the epics work.  And then the feature linked to an Epic using the 'Epic Link' field.  When viewing the backlog, the epic panel was replaced with a feature panel displaying all features, and stories linked to them showed the colored label on the line item in the backlog.  When viewing a feature, you could see 'issues in this feature' just as it displays on epics.  This allowed us to easily use the Epic - Feature - Story structure for SAFe Agile.  My current employer does not have this same setup and I've been tasked with figuring out how to do this.  Can someone tell me if this is possible using standard admin functonality or will I need to contact Atlassian for customizations?  I've been all through the admin functions and do not see it available.

[Robert Wen_Cprime_]

Hello @jennifer miller ! Welcome to the Atlassian Community.

What I believe your former employer was using was a Marketplace app that took the Jira Epic and renamed it as Feature so it would work with SAFe.  They then could create a "Program Epic" issue type and place it above Feature using Advanced Roadmaps or Structure.

Here's the Marketplace app I was talking about: https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1218959/safe-epic-to-feature-translator-for-jira?hosting=datacenter&tab=overview

Jira Cloud has the ability to rename Epics to something else (e.g. Features).  I believe we're still waiting for that native capability in Jira Server/DC.

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

Hi, @jennifer miller. Welcome to the community! 👋

AFAIK this cannot be done with Jira out-of-the-box — especially not Jira Server where the Atlassian Advance Roadmaps product is not available.

That said, there are a number of Atlassian Marketplace apps that can help you achieve this.  But, before we go there...

Are you sure you are on the server edition of Jira at your new employer? I am guess you are, but thought I should ask.

Related:  Where does your employer plan to go next? Jira Server is being sunsetted and your new employer may have plans to move to Cloud or Data Center.  Knowing where you are headed could impact the approach you may want to take now.

Finally, do you know if your previous employer was on Server, Data Center, or Cloud?  Could there have been an add-on Jira app that helped you achieve the desired hierarchy.

Best,

-dave

[jennifer miller]

I just verified that we currently have the data center and moving to the cloud is the ultimate goal, but at the moment that may not be until 2024 (which I believe is the dead date for the server/data center support).  Currently just getting quotes to move to the cloud.

[jennifer miller]

Also, I am aware of the custom epic panel plugin, but we were informed that it had to be disabled for the latest update and would no longer be supported.  Not sure how accurate that is.