The distinction between an epic, a story, and a task is one of the most common sources of confusion in Agile project management. While all three contribute to delivering business value, they operate at different levels of granularity. User stories are essentially smaller components of an epic, broken down into actionable items that the software development team can work on effectively.
- Epics are collections of related user stories that collectively contribute to achieving a shared business goal or delivering a specific product.
- A user story represents a requirement or Agile feature, articulated from the perspective of the end user. It typically follows a structured format to ensure clarity and alignment with user needs.
- Tasks are individual units of work that support the successful completion of a user story, often addressing specific technical or operational requirements.
Each level involves distinct stakeholders. At the theme or initiative level, project managers and product managers focus on overall delivery. The product owner is responsible for creating epics to achieve the desired outcomes. These epics are further broken down into user stories by the product owner in collaboration with product team leads, such as designers and engineering leads. The engineering team is tasked with completing the individual tasks required to fulfill these user stories, ensuring the work is executed effectively.
Example of Epic vs User Story vs Task
To illustrate the concept of epics, user stories, and tasks, consider the example of developing an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). This example demonstrates the technique of user story slicing, which involves dividing user stories into vertical and horizontal segments. While some might define the epic as simply “creating an ATM” and treat individual features as user stories, this approach is often impractical in real-world scenarios.
For instance, creating a cash withdrawal feature involves multiple scenarios that must be addressed. These include implementing a balance reader, ensuring security checks, maintaining a ledger of cash available in the ATM, accessing users’ personal details, and generating an audit trail.
When defining requirements, the process typically begins at the epic level. For example, if the goal is to build an ATM, the product manager would outline the key features the ATM should provide. A feature such as “Bank Statement” could be classified as an epic, as it represents a substantial body of work that encompasses multiple user stories.
User stories can be thought of as simple user scenarios. They outline the specific scenarios that each user may encounter or require from a feature. These scenarios can involve multiple types of users. For example, in the context of an ATM bank statement feature, users may include both the end user and internal stakeholders such as the compliance team or fraud prevention team.
- As an end user, I want to download my bank statement so that I can view my account balance.
- As a compliance administrator, I want to monitor printed bank statements to ensure their accuracy.
The user story format intentionally leaves the technical implementation details to the development team. During refinement sessions, stories are reviewed to ensure that the development team fully understands the user requirements and the expected behavior of the final product.
Tasks, on the other hand, are created by the engineering team. These are typically technical in nature and may include activities such as testing, implementing security measures, or performing database operations. Tasks are designed to address all the technical needs required to fulfill the user story.
User Story vs Tech Story
User stories are written from the perspective of the end user, focusing on their needs and objectives. In contrast, technical user stories represent the technical tasks or components required to fulfill an epic. These technical user stories are equally important and should be estimated and prioritized alongside user stories to ensure the successful delivery of the epic.
Bug vs Task
A bug refers to a situation where a feature does not function as intended or when a user story fails to meet the established definition of done. Resolving a bug may involve multiple tasks, each requiring input from different team members. For example, tasks could include updating the database, implementing a new design, or addressing other technical requirements, with each task assigned to the appropriate individual or team.
Definition of Done DoD
When a user story is marked as “Done,” it is essential that all stakeholders have a clear and shared understanding of what “done” entails, as this definition can vary between Scrum teams. If a standard definition of “done” does not exist within the development organization, the Development Team within the Scrum Team must establish a definition that is appropriate for the product.
In cases where multiple Scrum Teams are collaborating on the same system or product release, all teams must collectively define and agree upon a unified Definition of Done. This shared standard ensures consistent quality across teams and should evolve over time to incorporate more stringent criteria as the teams mature.
Estimating Epic vs Story vs Task
These elements collectively contribute to delivering a theme or initiative. To make them more manageable, they are decomposed into smaller, incremental units of work. Each level is estimated with increasing precision as the work is broken down further. At the theme or epic level, it is recommended to use agile t-shirt sizing as a relative estimation technique.
We utilize t-shirt sizing as a relative estimation technique to compare epics against one another. Similarly, for user stories, we employ methods such as planning poker and the Fibonacci sequence. These approaches help prevent project managers from imposing undue time pressure on individuals. At the task level, we request estimates from engineers based on tasks they are familiar with, representing an Agile approach to bottom-up estimating.
We avoid starting with bottom-up estimating because Agile emphasizes rolling wave planning. This approach ensures that user stories are not written far in advance, allowing teams to focus on the most critical tasks at any given time. It also eliminates the need for extensive requirement gathering and estimation sessions, which are characteristic of the waterfall methodology rather than Agile.
Agile Epic Template
We have listed some free epic templates here, but you can also use our own free Google Docs version below:
Bringing It All Together: Mastering Agile with Epics, Stories, and Tasks
In conclusion, the distinction between epics, user stories, and tasks is fundamental to Agile project management, enabling teams to break down complex goals into manageable components. Epics align with overarching business objectives, user stories focus on addressing specific user needs, and tasks handle the technical execution required to bring these stories to life. This structured approach ensures clarity, prioritization, and incremental delivery of value, as demonstrated in the ATM development example.
By employing estimation techniques like t-shirt sizing for epics and planning poker for user stories, teams can plan effectively while staying adaptable. Additionally, fostering a shared understanding of the Definition of Done and encouraging collaboration among stakeholders are critical for maintaining quality and achieving successful project outcomes. These Agile principles empower teams to navigate challenges confidently and deliver solutions that meet both user and business expectations.
Suggested articles:
- 15 Game Changing Agile Collaboration Team Techniques
- Agile vs. Waterfall: Choosing the Right Methodology for Your Project
- 3 T-Shirt Sizing Agile Methods for Better Team Estimates
Shane Drumm, holding certifications in PMP®, PMI-ACP®, CSM, and LPM, is the author behind numerous articles featured here. Hailing from County Cork, Ireland, his expertise lies in implementing Agile methodologies with geographically dispersed teams for software development projects. In his leisure, he dedicates time to web development and Ironman triathlon training. Find out more about Shane on shanedrumm.com and please reach out and connect with Shane on LinkedIn.