# Epics Overview Comprehensive guide to Epics - definition, Epic page views, operations, labels, and managing larger initiatives across teams. ## Overview An **Epic** is a collection of Stories that represent larger initiatives. Just like Stories, Epics move through a workflow and can be completed. **Want to see Epics in action?** Explore our Demo Workspace, which contains pre-filled information that will allow you to see how it all works together. Access it by clicking on the **Help** option in the upper right of the UI and selecting **Demo Workspace** at the bottom of the Help Hub modal. Epics are initially visible in two different views, **Table** and **Column**, with a number of different ways to filter down to a view you need. ### Table View Table view displays your Epics in a tabular format. You can easily sort the Epics in the Table view in ascending or descending order by clicking on any of the titles at the top of the columns. You can reorder the way the columns are displayed using the Display dropdown. Dragging a column name up will shift it left on the table; dragging a column name down will shift it right on the table. Some information -- like an Epic's Owners, State, Start/Target Date, Objective, or Label -- can be edited from the Table View by clicking on the respective field. ### Column View The Column view provides a modular look at your Epics. Columns map to the parent Epic workflow states (for example, **To Do**, **In Progress**, and **Done**), depending on how your workspace is configured. Custom Epic States appear within their parent state group and display their custom name next to the state icon. You can drag and drop Epic cards to change their state. You can also use the three-dot menu in the upper right of the Epic card to archive, duplicate, or delete the Epic. ## The Epics Page ### Working with Epics in Shortcut * Following an Epic: * This allows users to keep up to date with any changes to the Epic or the Stories within it. * Archiving and Unarchiving an Epic: * Archiving is for completed Epics as well as Epics that your team has decided they no longer want to pursue. * **Note:** Stories associated with Archived Epics will no longer be included in Reports and will not be visible on the Stories Page. * Changing Epic States * From the Epic Page: select the state from the dropdown in the sidebar: * From the Epics Page Table View: click the state dropdown and update the state directly. * From the Epics Page Column View: drag and drop Epics across columns. * Comments on Epics: These work very similarly to how comments in Stories work. The comments field supports text, @-mentions, markdown, emoji, images, files, links, and code snippets. Clicking into the comment text area will provide you with numerous helpers. ### Story Relationship Dependencies On all Epic and Iteration single/detail pages, view Story Blocked/Blocking relationships as a Mermaid Chart! Complete with all Stories in the Epic or Iteration, the ability to see the type of relationship status, and if the Stories have been started. Easily expand or collapse the section to help keep you and your team focused. View all Stories (including completed) by selecting "Show Completed". **To view relationships, ensure all the Stories are in the same Epic or Iteration.** You can change the color key to either Story state type or relationship type via the drop-down in the bottom left corner of the chart. ### Epic Labels Labels are a way to associate Stories and Epics. You can filter against Labels throughout various Shortcut views and search for Stories that carry them in the Stories filter section and on the Search page. When a Label is assigned to an Epic, all Stories within that Epic display the Epic label. Epic Labels can be created either on the [Labels Page](https://app.shortcut.com/settings/labels) or directly on the Epic sidebar by clicking **Add Label > Type desired label name > Enter**. You can also add existing Labels and edit Labels from the Epic sidebar. ## Insights and Reports Epic reports live in the **Reports** tab on an Epic. They help you track scope change, throughput, and flow. These charts found on an Epic page are: * ARC (Added/Remaining/Completed) * Velocity * Lead Time / Cycle Time * Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) #### Common prerequisites Most Epic reports only populate once: * The Epic is in a **Started/In Progress** Epic state. * The Epic contains Stories that have started moving through a workflow. ### ARC chart The Epic ARC (Added/Remaining/Completed) chart shows remaining work over time. It highlights scope changes (work added/removed). #### Chart display options The ARC chart can display **Story Count** or **Points**. Set the default in **Settings > Estimate Scale**. #### How the date range works The **start date** is the date you move the Epic into a Started state. If the Epic has a **Target Date**, the chart shows an ideal remaining line. If it has no Target Date, the chart estimates a completion date based on the burn rate. #### What each series means * **Actual remaining** (bold blue line): previous remaining + added − removed − completed. * **Ideal remaining** (grey dotted line): straight line to zero on the end date. * **Added** (purple bars): Stories/points added, or estimates increased. * **Removed** (yellow bars): Stories/points removed, or estimates decreased. * **Completed** (green bars): Stories/points completed that day. ### Velocity chart The Velocity chart shows the number of Stories or Story Points completed over time. It also shows the overall average and trailing average velocity. #### When data appears For Velocity to populate: 1. The Epic must be in a Started/In Progress state. 2. The Epic must contain Stories that have entered a **Started** workflow state. #### Sum Using: Story Count vs Story Points Use **Sum Using** to switch aggregation: * **Story Count**: bar height = total Stories completed in the interval. * **Story Points**: bar height = total points completed in the interval. Unestimated Stories do not contribute to Story Points. You can still see the count of unestimated Stories on the chart. #### Chart details * Bar colors represent Story types (Feature, Bug, Chore). * Hover a bar to see a breakdown by type and the interval total. * Dotted green line = overall average across the selected range. * Solid green line = trailing average (window depends on Group By). Trailing average windows: * Day: 7 days * Week: 4 weeks * Month: 3 months * Iteration: 4 iterations > The trailing average uses data outside your selected date range. This keeps the metric accurate at the start of the chart. #### Group By options and limits Use **Group By** to segment data by Day, Week, Month, or Iteration. Availability depends on the Epic’s date range: * Date range must be at least the length of the Group By period. * Day: available for date ranges of 6 months or less. * Week: available for date ranges of 2 years or less. * Iteration: available for date ranges of 2 years or less. * Only Iterations fully inside the Epic date range are included. ### Lead Time / Cycle Time chart These reports help you understand how long it takes to finish work. They also surface outliers and process bottlenecks. #### Lead Time Chart settings Use the chart dropdown in the upper-right: * **Cycle Time**: time from first entering a Started state to completion. * **Lead Time**: time from Story creation to completion. * **Custom**: pick a workflow and choose the start/end states used. * Adjust states used in calculations: When using **Custom**, you can include or exclude workflow states. States must be continuous in the workflow. You can’t skip a state between your selected start and end. #### Axes and filters * Y-axis: number of days. * X-axis: completion dates of Stories in the selected Epic date range. You can also filter the chart by Story type. You can enable a 7-day trailing average for smoothing. ### CFD chart The CFD (Cumulative Flow Diagram) shows Stories over time, grouped by workflow state. Use it to spot bottlenecks and scope change. #### Availability The CFD only appears once Stories have been added to the Epic. The Epic also needs to be in a Started/In Progress state. #### Reading the CFD * X-axis: time, starting when the Epic moves into In Progress. * Y-axis: number of Stories in the Epic. * Select a workflow in the dropdown (CFD is workflow-specific). * Use **Sum Using** to view Story Count vs Points. * This overrides **Settings > Estimate Scale** for this report only.