Which of the following statements about issue hierarchy is true?

In Jira, issue hierarchy is structured in a way that provides clarity and organization within projects. The correct statement indicates that epics are at the top of the hierarchy. This means that epics serve as the overarching body for grouping related user stories or tasks, allowing teams to manage larger initiatives effectively. An epic can encompass multiple stories, which represent individual pieces of work that contribute to accomplishing the goal set by the epic.

Placing epics at the top of the hierarchy helps in organizing the work in a way that provides a clear visual representation of how smaller units of work fit into larger, strategic objectives. This structure empowers teams to prioritize and plan work more efficiently, ensuring that all parts of a project are aligned with the overall goals.

In contrast, the other statements do not correctly reflect how issue types function within the Jira hierarchy. For example, subtasks are not considered a primary issue type; rather, they are pieces of work that break down stories or tasks. Additionally, stories can exist with a parent epic but do not have to exist without one. Tasks can relate to other issue types as they can often be associated with user stories or epics depending on the project setup.