We worked around them by basically not using epics (using them to represent an endless line of work like Frontend, or Machine learning, the like), but instead i

We worked around them by basically not using epics (using them to represent an endless line of work like Frontend, or Machine learning, the like), but instead introducing a new type of issue, Sprint goal, which is created by the team leads committee and linked to actual tasks as related issues by individual developers. So we have both ‘big picture’ for current work and not interfere with developers. The sprint goals serve to record current priorities agreed between teams and CTO, are 2 week-scoped (hopefully), and reviewed at the end of the sprint. Seems to work well for our ~50-developer department. edit: To add, overall Jira+Confluence is more pleasant to work with than Redmine and Basecamp, though it does require a big team with a couple part-time Jira experts to make it work.