Three useful levels
Keep initiatives at the epic level, shippable work at the item level, and execution details in sub-items.
From the team space to the smallest next step
Organize work in team spaces, connect initiatives to epics, items, and sub-items, and give each piece the ownership and properties it needs.
Why it matters
Make the work clearer, not heavier.
A platform migration, onboarding redesign, or major API change needs more than a flat list, but it should not require a specialist to configure the hierarchy. Taskonio adds depth through three deliberate levels and lets smaller work remain flat when an epic would add more ceremony than clarity.
Designed around the way real teams decide and deliver.
Seven expressive item types
Tasks, bugs, stories, features, improvements, experiments, and ideas reflect the nature of the work.
A complete detail view
Bring descriptions, properties, related work, links, attachments, and discussion into one focused surface.
A closer look
How hierarchy and properties works in Taskonio.
01
Give each team a space of its own
A team space holds its work, views, and chosen framework. Teams in the same organization can work differently while keeping the same vocabulary for epics, items, and sub-items.
- Choose the framework for each team space independently
- Organize initiatives as epics and execution as items
- Keep smaller work independent when an epic would not add useful context
02
Use a clean three-level hierarchy
Epics represent large initiatives. Items capture the shippable work beneath them, and sub-items add execution detail where needed. Items can also exist without an epic, so teams do not need to over-structure small work.
- Epic → Item → Sub-item
- Flat items remain valid when an epic is unnecessary
- Hierarchy works in Sprint, Kanban, and no-framework team spaces
03
Describe work with seven item types
Tasks, bugs, stories, features, improvements, experiments, and ideas let the team communicate what kind of work it is planning. The same vocabulary remains available for items and sub-items.
- Use product-facing and engineering-facing work types together
- Choose the type that matches the intent of the work
- Keep a consistent vocabulary across hierarchy levels
04
Make the important properties explicit
Properties answer the questions a title cannot: who owns the work, where it stands, when it matters, and how it connects to the rest of the team’s scope. Choose which properties to display in each view.
- Identity and structure: task ID, title, type, epic, and sub-items
- Responsibility and progress: owner, status, and stage
- Planning context: priority, estimate, label, start date, and target date
- Dependencies: Blocking and Blocked By
- Record context: parent task, creation date and author, last edit date and editor
- Epic-level context: owner, start date, and target date
05
Track initiatives through epic-based views
Epic-based views can sit alongside item-based views in the modules your framework enables. Epic tables focus on owner, start date, and target date while revealing the items nested beneath each initiative.
- Initiative-level views across supported modules
- Items remain visible as the first nested level
- Separate big-picture planning from execution detail without duplicating data
06
Keep context in the detail page
Open an epic, item, or sub-item in a full-screen detail view with its title, markdown description, properties, related work, links, attachments, copyable task ID, and comments.
- Add items directly beneath an epic or sub-items beneath an item
- Attach supporting links and files
- Keep discussion and markdown-formatted context with the work
07
Break down large work in draft mode
Vibe Breakdown proposes child work from an epic or item description. Suggestions include a type, title, and description, but remain drafts until someone reviews, edits, removes, reorders, and applies them.
- Break epics into items or items into sub-items
- Receive suggestions across all seven item types
- Nothing becomes team-visible work before explicit approval
How it works
From setup to useful work.
- 01
Create the epic
Capture the initiative, assign ownership and dates, then write the description manually or begin with a Vibe Speccing draft.
- 02
Break it into executable work
Add items directly or review a Vibe Breakdown proposal before applying the child work to the epic.
- 03
Track at the right level
Use epic-based views for initiative context and item-based views for the work moving through Sprint, Kanban, or Backlog.
Taskonio’s approach
Enough hierarchy for major initiatives, without mandatory complexity
The hierarchy is available everywhere, but teams decide when to use it and which level a view should emphasize.
- Hierarchy
- Epics contain items; items can contain sub-items; smaller items can remain independent.
- Work vocabulary
- Seven item types distinguish implementation, defects, discovery, and product changes.
- Epic views
- Initiative-focused tables coexist with day-to-day item views.
- Context
- Descriptions, properties, relationships, links, attachments, IDs, and comments stay together.
- AI assistance
- Vibe Speccing and Vibe Breakdown create editable drafts rather than publishing work automatically.
Compare this workflow with the tools your team already knows.
Taskonio vs JiraA focused engineering workflow or a deeply configurable platform: choose the operating model your team can sustain.Read comparisonTaskonio vs TrelloA board you can shape around almost anything, or an engineering workflow with the planning structure already in place.Read comparisonTaskonio vs NotionCompare an opinionated engineering workflow with a flexible workspace that combines databases, documents, knowledge, projects, and AI.Read comparison
Considering another tool? Explore the full set of guides to find the right fit for your team.
View all comparisonsRelated features
Keep exploring the workflow.
Custom views
Your work, your way - custom views for every engineer
Create multiple table and board views across Backlog, Planning, Sprint, and Kanban, then keep adjustments local or share them with the team.
ExploreTaskonio AI
Shape the work. Review the next move.
Use Vibe Speccing to draft a specification, Vibe Breakdown to propose child work, and Decisions to review AI recommendations against the current state of a task.
ExploreTask view
The context belongs with the task
Keep the description, attachments, links, sub-items, comments, and task activity together. Open the work and get the information needed to move it forward.
ExploreQuestions
Know before you switch.
What is the difference between an epic and an item?
An epic represents a large initiative. Items represent the pieces of work beneath it, and sub-items add execution detail inside an item.
Can items exist without an epic?
Yes. Teams can keep smaller work flat and introduce an epic only when it adds useful initiative context.
Which item types are available?
Tasks, bugs, stories, features, improvements, experiments, and ideas are available for items and sub-items.
How does Vibe Breakdown draft mode work?
Suggested child items remain in a reviewable draft. You can rewrite, remove, reorder, retype, or add work before applying the proposal.
Do epics work in every framework?
Yes. The hierarchy is independent of framework choice and works in Sprint, Kanban, and no-framework team spaces.
What can we store on an epic detail page?
The detail view brings together the markdown description, properties, child items, links, attachments, task ID, and comments.
Ship big features, not big spreadsheets
Give the next major initiative a clear home, then break it into work the team can review and execute.