How to accurately report estimated and reported times in an Epic

[Thomas Hardin]

I know this topic has been discussed many times and there are a lot of add-ons, scripts and home grown solutions out there, but based on my research, I am still unable to address my dilemma when it comes to accurately reporting estimated time and reported time as it relates to Epics, Stories and Sub-tasks.

Our goal is simple, properly estimate the time required to complete an Epic based on the estimated time entered in the Story or Sub-Task of that Story. Then, accurately report the time spent on the Epic based on those Stories and Sub-Tasks.

Example –

Here, we are adding the estimated time to the Stories in hopes that it would roll up to the Epic. Unfortunately, it is not. Are we doing something wrong?

How can we enter estimated time and log time against a Story or Sub-Task and have that accurately roll up to the Epic? My thought is to create a script listener that would calculate the values and update the parent issue:

1. Story to Epic
2. Sub-Task to Story

If you all think this is the best approach, does anyone have a script for this and would be willing to share?

If there is a better approach, I’m all ears. Maybe we are supposed to be estimated at the parent level first, then using that value as a cap in the child issues. But, I would think I would still need a script to manage the value accurately, restricting me from entering a number that exceeded the total calculated value.

We have Epic Sum Up and Scriptrunner for Jira, so I’m thinking we should be able to accomplish our goal.

Thank you very much in advance for your assistance!

[Petter Gonçalves]

Hello Thomas,

Thank you for raising this question.

I believe that eh add-on Epic Sum Up would be the best approach to achieve this feature, as JIRA currently does not have an inbuilt functionality to sum the estimation from sub-task and stories to the related Epic.

That being said, I would like to know more information about this:

. But, I would think I would still need a script to manage the value accurately, restricting me from entering a number that exceeded the total calculated value.

What do you mean by the total calculated value? Are you planning to configure a limit to the estimations of the Epics on your site?

I will be waiting for your answer to better understand the feature you are looking for.

Additionally, please feel free to vote in the feature request we've raised in order to implement in JIRa the ability to sum story points or hour estimates for any epic links:

- https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JSWSERVER-8726

We will be waiting for your answer.

[Thomas Hardin]

Thanks for the response. So, first, I guess my question needs to be directed toward the prescribed practice for estimating Epics, Stories and Sub-Tasks. At what level should an estimate be provided? Epic, Story or Sub-Task? I would think that it would be very difficult to estimate at the Epic level if I did not know the work (Story or Task) involved, correct? At the same time, I would think that sub-tasks would be extra work efforts to help complete the story, but shouldn't be calculated. If so, then maybe they should be stories also. Thoughts? 

Additionally, when calculating work that has been performed, we would do so at the story or sub-task level. So, there would be no need to do so at an Epic level, unless there is some type of work that needs to be completed there. I have no idea what work should be logged at the Epic level, so if you have suggestions, I'm all ears.

At the end of the day, there just does not seem to be a prescribed method for estimating and tracking work. If there is a preferred practice, documented somewhere, I would love to at least start with a solid foundation.

Thank you for your assistance.