the value of the stories of broken down epics
I read that one of the differences between epics and user stories is that epic doesn't add value until all user stories are done and the workflow of the epic is complete
example
epic :
“As a salesperson, I’d like to set my password, so I can log into the system.“
after breaking down :
As an Administrator, I’d like to send an email to a new salesperson containing a tokenized access link, so they may temporarily access the system in order to set their password.
As a Salesperson, I’d like to edit my profile, so I may set my password.
As an Administrator, I’d like to ensure that all salespeople’s passwords meet corporate strength requirements, so I can harden access to the system.
so how each of the broken down stories meet the "valuable" part in INVEST criteria ? and the value cannot be reached without completing the whole workflow?!
I would say stop focusing so much on the difference between an Epic and User Story. All these are buckets/folders for organization. Neither are prescribed in Scrum as Scrum focuses on Backlog Items and allows teams to decide how to organize them. What value are you getting from focusing on the backlog item types of Epic versus Story?
I second @Curtis Slough's opinion. All you really need is an item in your Product Backlog that satisfies these criteria taken from the Scrum Guide.
Product Backlog items have the attributes of a description, order, estimate, and value. Product Backlog items often include test descriptions that will prove its completeness when "Done".
How you do that is up to you but focusing too much on the mechanics of it can be counter productive.