Epics Initiatives Milestones

Epics, Initiatives, and Milestones

Long-horizon planning sits above sprints and modules. This skill covers the three Plane entities used for it and when to choose each.

Tool Name Resolution

Resolve real tool names via the connector-bootstrap skill.

The Three Hierarchies

A work item can belong to an epic, a module, a cycle, and a milestone simultaneously.

Available Actions

Epics

list_epics, create_epic, retrieve_epic, update_epic, delete_epic

Initiatives

list_initiatives, create_initiative, retrieve_initiative, update_initiative, delete_initiative

Milestones

list_milestones, create_milestone, retrieve_milestone, update_milestone, delete_milestone, add_work_items_to_milestone, remove_work_items_from_milestone, list_milestone_work_items

Creating an Epic

1. connector-bootstrap  → resolve tools
2. list_projects        → pick project_id
3. create_epic({
     project_id,
     name: "Multi-tenant support",
     description_html: "<h3>Goal</h3>…<h3>Success metrics</h3>…",
     lead: "<user_uuid>",
     start_date, target_date,
     priority
   })

Add child work items by setting the epic as the parent (check the exact field name in the tool schema — typically parent or epic_id on the child work item).

Creating an Initiative

Initiatives are workspace-level — they do NOT take a project_id. Use them to express strategic bets that span several projects:

create_initiative({
  name: "International expansion Q3",
  description_html: "<h3>Why</h3>…<h3>Bets</h3>…<h3>Out of scope</h3>…",
  lead: "<user_uuid>",                       // may default to null
  start_date: "YYYY-MM-DD",
  end_date: "YYYY-MM-DD"                      // note: end_date, not target_date for initiatives
})

New initiatives are typically created in DRAFT state. Move them to active state separately if your instance supports it. Link epics and projects to the initiative per your instance's schema — this varies widely between Plane deployments.

Creating a Milestone

Milestones answer the question "what must ship by this date?".

Field name caveat: most Plane deployments use title for the milestone name, NOT name. Verify the tool schema before the first call. The description field may or may not be supported on your instance — start minimal and add fields only after confirming they work.

1. create_milestone({
     project_id,
     title: "v2.0 Public Beta",               // usually "title", NOT "name"
     target_date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
   })

2. add_work_items_to_milestone({
     project_id,
     milestone_id,
     issue_ids: [...]                         // plural; see Known Limitations below
   })

Reporting Progress

Epic progress

1. list_work_items({ project_id, filter: parent = epic_id })
2. Group by state group; sum points
3. completion_rate = completed_points / total_points
4. Forecast: project remaining points at current velocity → target_date slippage

Milestone health

1. list_milestone_work_items({ project_id, milestone_id })
2. Days to target_date
3. Remaining points
4. Velocity-based ETA: remaining_points / weekly_velocity
5. Risk: Red / Yellow / Green based on ETA vs target_date buffer

Risk thresholds:

• Green: ETA < target_date with ≥ 20% buffer
• Yellow: ETA ≤ target_date with < 20% buffer
• Red: ETA > target_date

Initiative rollup

Aggregate completion across all linked epics and projects. Report per-epic and overall.

When to Use Which

• Shipping a named release? → Milestone
• A feature area owned by one tech lead? → Epic
• A company-wide strategic bet? → Initiative
• Tracking a workstream that has no fixed date? → Module (see modules skill)
• Time-boxed iteration? → Cycle (see sprint-planning skill)

Best Practices

1. Do not create an epic for work smaller than a month — use a module or just work items.
2. Every milestone must have an explicit owner and a non-movable target date. If it moves, re-plan, don't silently slip.
3. Review epic/initiative progress monthly, not weekly — these are long horizons.
4. Link a tracking page (see pages-publishing) to every epic and initiative for stakeholder updates.
5. Always decompose an epic into sprintable work items (≤ 8 points each) before planning the first sprint that touches it.