In the mid of 2025 my team began paying more attention to the wording of epic titles. The reason is that often the title did not reflect the expected result, artifact or value that should emerge after the work was completed.
The main goal of improving epic titles is to increase the clarity and predictability of work outcomes.
When an epic title accurately reflects the final result or value, it provides several key advantages:
1. Improved Communication:
All team members (developers, managers, stakeholders) immediately understand what will be created and what benefit it will bring.
The risk of misunderstanding and misaligned expectations is reduced.
2. Prioritization and Planning:
It’s easier to assess the importance of an epic and its alignment with strategic goals.
More accurate resource planning is possible, as the scope and nature of the work are clear.
3. Progress Tracking:
It’s simpler to track how well the team is moving towards the stated outcome.
It allows for quicker identification of deviations from the goal.
4. Increased Business/User Value:
The focus shifts from “what we are doing” to “what problem we are solving” or “what value we are creating.”
It helps ensure that the work genuinely delivers benefit.
Here is the example:
Old Title: “Implement new authorization module”
Unclear: Which specific module? What is it for? What value will it bring?
New Title: “Enhance user login security via two-factor authentication to reduce account compromise risk by 15%”
Clear: What will be done (two-factor authentication), for whom (users), what problem it solves (reducing compromise risk) and what is the expected outcome (15% reduction).
Thus by paying attention to epic titles, you invest in the transparency, efficiency and ultimate value of your work.
To address the problem of insufficient clarity in epic titles regarding expected results, artifacts or values, I have developed a workshop on epic titles.
The goal of the workshop is to teach the team how to create epic titles that clearly and unambiguously communicate the final outcome of the work.
The workshop itself is designed for one and a half hours and consists of the following stages:
Opening: We discuss the event’s goal and establish agreements.
Theory: We discuss and define what an epic is.
Theory: We talk about the principles of good epic titles and common mistakes.
Practical Exercise: Participants are presented with 5 examples of epic titles (both effective and those needing improvement). In 10 minutes, they need to analyze them in small groups, identify which ones are strong and why, which ones need rewriting and why, and then propose their own title suggestions. This is followed by a discussion with all participants to share their outcomes.
Theory: We discuss a formula for forming epic titles.
Practical Exercise: In small groups, participants rewrite three real epic titles, followed by a discussion with all participants to share their results.
Wrap-up: reiterate that AI can be used for formulating epic titles.
Closing: collect data on how participants felt during the meeting and whether they will apply the acquired knowledge in practice.
By considering the epic’s title, we also gain insight into its scope and decomposability, as this is directly linked to the value we plan to achieve in the end. This, in turn, directly impacts the T2M (Time to Market) metric.
Please share your experience:
* What are the most common problems you encounter in your teams when formulating epic titles?
* How do you currently determine if an epic title sufficiently and clearly reflects the final outcome? Do you have your own “rules” or checklists?
* What do you think are the main challenges that might arise when implementing new approaches to epic titles within a team?