How to create a custom Jira issue hierarchy: 2 methods

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Beyond the basics: how to build a custom Jira issue hierarchy that fits your project management needs

Georges Petrequin

Published on 6 September 2023

11 min read

an illustrated jira board with a custom issue hierarchy overlaid on top

Georges Petrequin

Published on 6 September 2023

11 min read

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What’s wrong with the native Jira issue hierarchy?

When you need to go beyond the standard Jira functionality

Using Advanced Planning to create issue types above epics

Limitations of using Advanced Planning for your Jira hierarchy

Using Hierarchy for Jira to extend your Jira issue hierarchy

It's time to create your custom issue hierarchy

Extend your Jira issue hierarchy above or below your epics to boost visibility into your agile projects.

Ever found yourself staring at Jira's epic > story > sub-task structure thinking, 'This just doesn't fit how our team actually works'? If so, you're not alone.

While Jira's standard issue hierarchy works great as a foundation, many teams will outgrow it as their projects become more complex. Product managers need initiatives above epics. Development teams want tasks that can be added to sprints without being relegated to sub-tasks. Sound familiar?
Fortunately, Jira's flexibility means you have powerful options available to break free from these constraints.

In this guide, you'll learn why it's time to break free of Jira's standard issue hierarchy and discover two methods to create your own custom hierarchy in Jira, each with its own unique benefits.

Let's dive in!

Key takeaways

Jira's default hierarchy (epic > story > sub-task) can be limiting for complex projects, often leading teams to create workarounds.
One common workaround, Jira Plans (part of Jira Cloud Premium), allows for levels above epics but still has limitations like cost and inflexibility below the epic level.
Hierarchy for Jira is a simple but powerful way to create truly custom issue hierarchies by extending Jira's default levels based on your issue links, both above and below epics.
Your issues will show up in a visual nested tree view that dynamically updates based on your issue links, helping you easily identify dependencies and track project progress.
With Hierarchy for Jira, you get the flexibility needed for your unique approach to project management, while retaining access to Jira's built-in reports and saving on the higher costs required for Jira Cloud Premium and Plans.

What's wrong with the native Jira issue hierarchy?

Let's be clear: Jira's native issue hierarchy works perfectly for many teams!

As standard, Jira Cloud comes with a built-in issue hierarchy of epic>story>sub-task.

Higher-level product specifications are filled in at the epic level, which can then be broken down into lower-level stories and even further sub-tasks. All of Jira's built-in reports are supported by default, and you can create roadmaps at the epic level and add stories to sprints in the way Jira was intended to be used.

That's enough functionality and hierarchy levels for many teams. But what happens when your product roadmap needs to track large initiatives that span multiple epics? Or when your development team wants to add tasks to sprints without making them stories or sub-tasks? Suddenly, Jira's standard hierarchy feels limiting.

When Jira's standard issue hierarchy becomes a project bottleneck

We've all been there. Your team is growing, your projects are getting more complex, and suddenly you find yourself creating workarounds in Jira:

Renaming epics as "features" just so you can group them under larger initiatives.
Having teams working across multiple products like Jira Align and standard Jira.
Struggling to report accurately on work that spans multiple teams or projects.

These workarounds might seem like a good short-term fix, but they create inconsistencies in how your team uses Jira and can lead to confusion later on.

In situations like these, where your product specs or organisational structure don't neatly fit into Jira's default issue hierarchy, there are two great options: Advanced Roadmaps and Hierarchy for Jira.

Using Advanced Planning to create issue types above epics

The most common way to add an extra level of hierarchy above epics is to use Advanced Planning (formerly Advanced Roadmaps).

As part of Jira cloud Premium, this feature lets you configure issue types to use above epics and create roadmaps at a higher level.

Here's how it works:

Create your higher-level issue types: when your epics need a parent to group them under, Advanced Planning lets you configure issue types like 'Initiatives' or 'Features' that sit above epics in your hierarchy. This gives you that bird's-eye view many product and project managers need.

2. Link your existing work: once configured, you can link your epics to your new parent issues through the 'parent link' field—no need to restructure all your existing work. Your team can continue working as they always have, but now with better organisation at the top level.

3. See your new hierarchy in action: when you open your roadmap view, you'll see child epics displayed inside parent features or initiatives, creating a clean, visual hierarchy that makes tracking progress and reporting to stakeholders far easier.

What are the limitations of using Jira Plans for your Jira hierarchy?

For many teams, Jira Plans (previously Advanced Planning) provides a helpful way to structure Jira issue type hierarchy.

But, there are a few limitations to be aware of before you upgrade to Jira Cloud Premium just for this feature:

Plans doesn't allow you to add extra levels to your Jira issue hierarchy below epics or use a flexible issue hierarchy instead of a fixed one.
If you want to use an epic>story>task>sub-task hierarchy or epic>feature>story>task>sub-task hierarchy, Plans won't be able to meet your needs.
If you decide to stop using Plans, you'll lose the links between your epics and parent issues, which means you'll be faced with a high management overhead when leaving the tool if you want to retain your issue hierarchy.

What's more, Plans can become expensive if you're working in a large team and have many users on your Jira instance.

There are definitely a lot of good reasons to use Plans, but if you're looking for a solution that allows you more flexibility in customising your issue hierarchy, then you'll want to consider Hierarchy for Jira too.

Using Hierarchy for Jira to create a custom Jira issue hierarchy for your projects

Jira Plans solves your 'levels above epic' problem, but Hierarchy for Jira takes your issue hierarchy customisation to the next level.

Our app for Jira Cloud lets you extend the default Jira issue levels via issue linking.

It's simple and quick to get started:

Install the app from the Atlassian Marketplace (30-day free trial available).
Start linking your issues together: you can use existing issue links or create custom link types like "parent of/child of".
Link your issues using these relationships to create your ideal structure.
Visualise your new custom issue hierarchy in Hierarchy for Jira's nested tree view that automatically generates based on your issue links.

There's no complex configuration required, and you'll instantly be able to start seeing how your issues work together, and what task dependencies exist in your project.

You can add new levels into your issue hierarchy below epics or between issue types as you need.

This makes it possible to create an epic>story>task>sub-task issue hierarchy or an epic>feature>story>sub-task hierarchy, which is a limitation of Advanced Planning.

In this example, we've created a custom link 'parent of / child of' to make the custom hierarchy epic>feature>story>task>sub-task:

a custom issue hierarchy structure in jira

If you already have existing issue links representing the parent/child relationship, simply select the respective link type in Hierarchy for Jira, and your custom hierarchy will instantly appear in your tree view. There's no need to re-link everything from scratch!

You get complete freedom to create any issue hierarchy you like using your own preferred link type.

Hierarchy for Jira also gives you complete freedom to create any issue hierarchy, using your own preferred link types. Want epic>feature>story in one project but initiative>epic>story in another? No problem.

Unlike some apps that force a single structure on your whole instance, Hierarchy for Jira lets every team using it and every project be uniquely configured to your needs.

See how Forty8Fifty Labs builds the perfect Jira issue hierarchy

"Hierarchy for Jira allows you to go into the product [Jira] and actually add levels in between both the story and the epic, which really solves the problem."

Robert Nadon, Lead Atlassian Architect @ Forty8Fifty Labs

See the full testimonial

One of our customers' favourite features on top of the custom hierarchy is that you can save different custom views for easy access anytime. This allows you to set up views for specific types of dependency management, bug tracking, release management, weekly progress reports, and more!

You can also export your issues to a CSV (or share your Hierarchy for Jira views with a shareable URL) while retaining their hierarchy, and track each level's story point or time progress.

Note: Hierarchy for Jira doesn't currently support roadmap creation, so users who need this feature may want to use Advanced Roadmaps as well!

If you're already using Advanced Planning, then that's fine too—Hierarchy for Jira works with initiatives or features created in Advanced Planning. Levels above epics created with Advanced Planning and any roadmaps will still be compatible.

Once your roadmap is created, you can then use Hierarchy for Jira to extend your issue hierarchy further by creating new hierarchy levels, below epics.

Taking the next steps: creating your custom issue hierarchy

Whether you're managing complex products across multiple teams or simply need more structure for your growing projects, extending Jira's issue hierarchy puts you back in control of your projects.

You can start today with a free 30-day trial of Hierarchy for Jira and see how the right structure can transform your project management workflows. Need help setting it up? Our team is here to help!

Ready to create your custom issue hierarchy?

Hierarchy for Jira gives you a 360-degree view of all your Jira projects and tasks, allowing you to create a custom issue hierarchy tailored to your needs. You'll be able to make smarter project decisions, set priorities easily, and forecast timelines with confidence!

Start your free trial

Frequently asked questions

What makes Jira's native issue hierarchy limiting?

While Jira's default hierarchy works well for all types of use cases and teams, it can become limiting as projects grow more complex.

For instance, it doesn't easily support tracking large initiatives spanning multiple epics or allow development teams to add tasks directly to sprints without converting them to stories or sub-tasks. This can lead to workarounds, inconsistencies, and difficulties in accurate reporting.

How does Jira Cloud Premium and Plans help with custom hierarchies?

Jira Cloud Premium, through its Plans feature, allows you to configure issue types to sit above epics, such as 'Initiatives' or 'Features'. This provides a higher-level view and enables you to link epics to these new parent issues, making roadmap tracking easier.

What are the drawbacks of using Jira Cloud Premium and Plans for custom hierarchies?

The main limitations of using Jira Cloud Premium and Plans for custom hierarchies include the cost, the inability to add extra levels below epics, and the lack of flexibility that other options like Hierarchy for Jira provide.

You'll also lose the links between epics and parent issues if you stop using the tool, leading to high admin overhead if things change in the future.

How does Hierarchy for Jira enable custom issue hierarchies?

Hierarchy for Jira allows you to extend the default Jira issue levels by using your existing issue links to visualise your issues in a custom hierarchy.

You can create new levels both above and below epics, supporting hierarchies like epic > story > task > sub-task or epic > feature > story > sub-task. The app visualises your custom hierarchy in a nested tree view based on your issue links, and it updates dynamically with your issue links.

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Written by

Georges Petrequin

Content Marketing Manager

Georges is a Content Marketing Manager at Upscale with a focus on our Jira apps. He spends his time crafting content that helps our customers solve their everyday work pain points and get more out of their Atlassian tools.

Atlassian

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