Epic
A strategic investment where the portfolio’s themes turn into value and ROI.
01What it's for
An Epic is a bet on a measurable result for a customer. It names who we serve, which job we improve for them, and what outcome we expect.
Three things make the bet testable:
- leading indicators that show within a quarter whether we’re on track
- an MVP that tests the hypothesis
- a lean business case, just enough to determine the investment and risk exposure based on value and ROI potential
02What it turns into under business as usual
The Epic becomes the project charter under a new name. Scope, budget and end date are fixed up front, the business case is written to get the money and is not looked at again, and “done” means delivered, not achieved.
Progress is reported as percentage complete. The Epic belongs to a department, and stopping it feels like failure instead of a decision.
03How you notice
- Epics are named after solutions or systems: “New CRM”, “Platform migration”.
- No Epic has a leading indicator, or nobody looks at it.
- Epics are rarely stopped. They slow down, split, or quietly linger.
- Status reports show milestones and budget burn, not outcome.
04How to make it work
Write every Epic as a hypothesis with a measurable outcome and a leading indicator we can read within one quarter. Anything can be measured; the only question is what it costs to measure it.
Define the MVP that tests the hypothesis. Keep the solution open until the QBR decides to invest.
The portfolio decides three things only: invest, continue or stop. The Epic Owner and the ARTs decide the solution, within the guardrails, as late as responsibly possible.