# Hierarchy Setup

Hiera uses a configurable hierarchy to organize your issues into a tree structure. The hierarchy determines how issues are nested in the Timeline, OKR View, and other tree-based views.

## Default Hierarchy

Out of the box, Hiera uses the hierarchy:

**Initiative > Epic > Story**

This matches the default Jira issue type scheme for most projects.

## Configuring the Hierarchy

Each project can have its own hierarchy configuration. To customize it:

1. Open Hiera in the target project.
2. Click the **Hierarchy** button in the toolbar.
3. In the configuration dialog, you can:
   * **Add** a new level by selecting an issue type
   * **Remove** an existing level
   * **Reorder** levels by dragging them up or down
4. Click **Save** to apply the changes.

The topmost level in the list represents the highest-level parent; the bottommost represents the leaf-level work items.

## Configuration Examples

### 2-Level Hierarchy

For simple projects:

```
Epic > Story
```

### 3-Level Hierarchy (Default)

For standard Scrum or Kanban projects:

```
Initiative > Epic > Story
```

### 4-Level Hierarchy

For complex programs with multiple layers:

```
Strategic Parent > Initiative > Epic > Story
```

### With Strategic Parents

If you use the [Strategic Parents](file:///1698742/strategic-parents.md) feature (new in v7.1), add the Strategic Parent type at the top of your hierarchy to enable full top-down planning.

## Per-Project Storage

Hierarchy configurations are stored in **Forge Storage** on a per-project basis. This means:

* Each project can have a different hierarchy tailored to its workflow.
* Changes to one project do not affect other projects.
* Configuration persists across sessions and is available to all project members.

## Tips

* Keep hierarchies shallow (2-4 levels) for best readability in tree views.
* Ensure all issue types used in the hierarchy exist in the project's issue type scheme.
* After changing the hierarchy, reload Hiera to see the updated tree structure.


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