Epic
In the agile requirements hierarchy, the epic occupies the intermediate level between the theme (a grouping of epics) and the user story (the sprint's work item).
Why epics exist
Epics are not a problem; they are an unavoidable reality in any product of some complexity. At the start of a project, many requirements arrive expressed at a high level of granularity—"the user can manage their profile," "the system processes payments"—that is too large to be estimated and planned directly.
The epic is the placeholder for that requirement until the team has enough context to break it down into manageable stories. The further down the prioritization an epic sits, the longer it can remain an epic; it only needs to be broken down as it approaches the next sprint.
Example
Epic: "Expansion of the information technology product line."
This epic describes a high-level strategic objective. As it approaches the sprint, it is broken down into stories such as:
- "As a corporate customer, I want to request a demo of the new product from the website, so that I can evaluate whether it fits my needs."
- "As a sales agent, I want to see a client's interaction history, so that I can better prepare for the next call."
How to split an epic
There are several strategies for breaking an epic down into viable user stories. One of the most widely used is SPIDR (Mike Cohn):
- Spike: separate the necessary technical research into its own story before implementation.
- Path: split according to the different paths or flows the user can follow.
- Interface: separate by interface (web, mobile, API).
- Data: split according to the types of data being handled.
- Rules: separate complex business rules into independent stories.
Generative AI can suggest ways to split an epic, but the judgement about which split is most valuable in the context of the product still rests with the team and the Product Owner.
Common mistake
Including epics in the Sprint Backlog. An epic in the Sprint Backlog is work that the team cannot complete within the iteration, which guarantees that it will remain unfinished at the end of the sprint. Only stories that the team can get done should enter the sprint. If a story seems too large for the sprint, it must be split before committing to it.
Resources
🏦 Skill User storiesState of the art and development guide · Skill Arena
See also
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