epicscale

Epicscale is a proposed metric used in agile software development to quantify the scope and impact of an epic—an aggregated collection of user stories that represents a significant feature or initiative. Unlike story points, epicscale aims to reflect breadth of work and risk across cross-functional teams. It is not standardized and is used variably by organizations.

Most implementations describe epicscale as a multi-dimensional score, combining dimensions such as business value, technical complexity, integration effort, risk, and stakeholder reach. Each dimension is rated on a defined scale (for example 1 to 5), and a weighting scheme yields a single composite Epicscale score.

Teams use the score to prioritize epics, plan releases, and allocate resources. Epicscale scores can be mapped to backlog views, used to compare competing epics, and inform capacity planning. Some tools integrate epicscale with existing estimation workflows, aligning with project management platforms.

Roots are not tied to a single standard; epicscale emerged in agile practitioner communities in the 2010s and 2020s as a concept to address the limitations of story-point only estimation for large initiatives. Adoption varies and many teams prefer lightweight variants of the approach.

Critics note that epicscale introduces subjectivity and potential inconsistencies if weights are not calibrated across teams; it can create bias toward high-scoring epics or bureaucratic overhead. Proponents argue that, when used with discipline and governance, it improves visibility into scope and planning accuracy.

See also: Agile software development, Epic (user story), Estimation, Portfolio management, SAFe, LeSS.