I recently joined a company that handles a big enterprise system. The team works on many different things like bug fixes, API updates, app onboarding, process improvements, new features, and system maintenance.
The problem is they mix all operational tasks with project work in one place. Their Kanban board has over 30 epics that are really just containers for different projects or improvements. The stories have turned into epics somehow. There’s no clear structure.
There’s basically no way to prioritize work properly. Developers end up working on low priority items while important project deliverables sit untouched.
The actual projects don’t have proper plans documented anywhere. They seem to plan things as they go and call it agile.
Sprint planning is just a mess of leftover work from previous sprints mixed with some project tasks and random requests from managers. Nobody estimates work properly either.
Since it’s a large company, I’m stuck with just regular Jira. No other tools available.
I’m trying to separate operational work from project work, create better hierarchy with programs and portfolios, establish real priorities, and build proper project plans that connect to Jira items.
Has anyone dealt with something similar? Any suggestions on how to fix this mess?
Been there! Same nightmare at my last job. Here’s what finally worked - fix your epic structure first. Make epics actual quarterly themes, not random buckets. Break those down into features, then stories. Set up a quick RACI matrix outside Jira for project ownership, then just reference those owners in your descriptions. Got leadership on board with basic scoring using custom fields - business value, effort, dependencies. Sold it by showing them how much time we waste jumping between random tasks. Set up different filters so managers only see what matters to them. Once you get the work breakdown right, the planning chaos dies down pretty fast.
Classic Jira sprawl - I’ve seen this at tons of enterprise clients. Here’s what actually worked for me: create clear swim lanes instead of trying to fix everything at once. Set up separate project keys for operational vs project work. Management will probably hate it at first, but they’ll come around once they see how much cleaner the reporting gets. Use Jira’s component field to categorize work types, then build custom dashboards that filter by components. For the epic mess, force a naming convention that makes scope and ownership crystal clear. Once you get proper work categorization, the estimation headaches usually disappear because devs can finally spot patterns in similar work. Don’t tackle everything at once though - your team’s used to the chaos and they’ll push back hard if you change too much.
Been there - sounds brutal. Start simple: just use two labels, “ops” and “project.” Tag everything with those first. Then set up one clean project workspace as your proof of concept. Once people see how much easier it makes things, they’ll want their stuff organized too. The estimation issues fix themselves when work actually has clear scope.
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