In Shortcut we have Story Templates that allow you to create Stories from a pre-formatted template, saving you and your team time and effort on commonly written Stories. Did you ever want to do the same with Epics? While we currently do not have a specific Epic Template functionality, we do have a workaround that will provide a good starting point.
Template Set up
First, create a Story Template that's a solid base of the information you need. Within the Story Template, add:
- Title
- Description
- Tasks (which will become Stories)
- Task Owners (which will become Story Owners)
- Optional - Due Date for the Story (which will become the Due Date for the Epic)
- Optional - Labels (become Epic Labels)
- Optional - Followers (become Epic Followers)
Once you feel it captures the bulk of what you want, save the Story Template as "Story --> Epic Template" for example.
- Whenever you need that particular Epic created with all the Stories (with or without Story Owners), Followers, Labels, etc., create the Story using the respective template.
Story to Epic
Once a Story is created via the Story Template, select the three dots at the top tight and select Convert Story to Epic (as seen below). This will start the process of converting that Story into an Epic and archiving the original Story as a comment on the Epic for posterity. It's not everything, but it's a really great way to get a bunch of information created quickly!
The first comment on an Epic communicates the Epic was converted from a Story (as seen below).
All the Tasks from the Story are converted to Stories that are a part of the Epic (as seen below).
Please note that there are some limitations when performing this conversion (e.g. markdown formatting is not currently supported in Story or Epic Titles - only as part of descriptions and there is a 512-character limit for Story Titles).
This process is still meant to be a workaround and doesn't capture everything, but it's a really great way to get a bunch of information created quickly! Please feel free to reach out to Support if you come across any wonky behavior, run into any challenges, and/or have additional questions - we're here to help!
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