Are you struggling to organize a hackathon? Relax. I’ll share with you some tips about how to run your first company hackathon, survive the hurdle and get a promotion (maybe the latter is too much 😁). For now, have a nice seat and enjoy reading our essential guide while sip a cup of tea. No fluff. I promise 😬 Let’s go!
Run a Hackathon — The Essential Guide
As Francisco, our Business Maker, explained in a previous post, a hackathon (hack + marathon) is a way to creatively solve a problem related to technology. It’s great for get your entire team involved with a project, play around and discover a out of the box solution.
It’s also true that hackathons have some bad rep due to their competitive nature. In my opinion, it’s an unfair critic. Indeed, as all in life, it depends on several factors. For instance: the incentives promised, the nature of the project and, above all, you: the organizer. In the end, it’s up to you to choose a more competitive format. Take a step back. Do you think your team works best under pressure? Or they perform best with a mix of collaborative activities and workshop sessions? Think calmly. Choose wisely.
Our step-by-step guide to organize a company hackathon
So where were we? Yes, how to run your first company hackathon! In Inspire, we don’t believe in inflexible models. Before organizing a hackathon, we exchange some thoughts about the problem we want to solve. However, over time, a pattern emerged: preparation, organization and execution are always present.
Step 1 – Preparing the hackathon
This is the hard part. And the longest too.
Start by defining the theme and the purpose of your hackathon. The theme, for example, may be personal finance management and the aim is to build an app to manage credit cards. This task is very important. It’s the foundation of all your event.
If you have mix feelings about the list of themes you thought, talk to your team members. They can point the most exciting and feasible ones. Bonus tip: they like to be heard. Gain their trust 😉
After defining the scope of the hackathon, decide whether you’re going to organize a collaborative or competitive format. Pick a date, a venue and the duration. By the way, when choosing the duration, think about the type of problem and the degree of complexity of the solutions. If the problem only requires a Minimum Viable Product, one or two days will be enough. To more complex and fuzzy problems, make it five.
Wondering organize an online hackathon? We tend to concord
Due to the pandemic, you might think that hackathons would lose space. Not necessarily. Take advantage of the online world. There is plenty of tools to help you run a cheap and interactive as possible hackathon. Lately, we’ve been using Discord. Unlimited number of channels. Pretty customizable. Big fan 👌
Regardless the venue, don’t forget to do a regulation and define rules for evaluating the projects. In this regard, start with few criteria, such as the degree of innovation and the technical execution of the solution. Recruit also a panel of evaluators. Select senior members or team leaders for this role. They know better.
By the way, remember to share the regulation with your departament. Transparency is essential. Everyone should know what they can expect.
One last tip before moving to the next step. Start documenting right from the beginning. Don’t postpone the compilation of rules or dates. Prevent the unexpected. How many good ideas have been lost because a forgotten post-it? Lots of stories to tell here 😅 So use Trello or Miro to organize all the information and free your mind. That effort will pays off. You’ll see. After the hackathon it would be easy to collect ideas, report what happen and make fine-tuning.
Step 2 – Organizing the hackathon
Pull the loudspeaker form the drawer. It’s time to spread the word! Use all the means at your disposal to communicate the event within your organization. We use Discord and an internal newsletter. To communicate effectively, guess where your people tend to be. Reach them and give the news.
Moreover, provide a registration form to participants inscribe. It can be a Google Form or a shared Excel file. Just one rule: the form must be super easy to complete.
Meanwhile, start to handle the logistics. If the event takes place in a physical space, there is mandory equipment that you must ensure, such as a projector, a whiteboard, laptops, pens and post-its. The room must has Wi-Fi and natural light. Don’t forget the catering. Water, fruit, coffee and snacks work fine. Still, run a quick survey among your ranks to get their favorites.
Get everybody comfortable
Before the big day arrived, there are two related aspects that deserve your attention: recognize the reasons for avoid the event and manage the team skills. Sometimes, the younger members feel that they’re not smart enough to participate in this kind of events. It’s the Impostor Syndrome talking. Be aware of the signals just as social withdraw, lack of confidence or auto-depreciation. Try to talk with them and, most important, listen their complaints and doubts. Don’t pressure. Make them feel understood, that they work in a safe place. Respect their time. Sooner or later, they will join 🙂
Furthermore, make sure that the teams combine experience with youth. Hard skills with soft skills. Mixture and diversity usually gives rise to more creative solutions.
Step 3 – Executing the hackathon
The great day has come! It’s time to get to work 💻😁
Regardless of the location, don’t neglect a very important part of hackathons’ organization: onboarding. Make everyone feel welcome and convey that their presence is valuable. Also, remind the reason that led you there: mention the theme, the objective and the basic rules of the hackathon. And, of course, talk about the breaks for eating and drinking.
During the hackathon you may have to clarify one or the other issue. For our experience, the most common questions are related with deadlines or break times.
While the teams are working hard, test the megapixels of your new mobile camera. Take some pictures to share on social media or in the Christmas dinner 🤐😂
At the end, each team is called to present its proposal. It’s healthy to have constructive feedback from the panel of evaluators. Collect all solutions and thank everyone for their efforts.
Congrats! You’ve survived your first marathon, i mean, hackathon. Well done!
Let’s recap the steps to run a company hackathon:
- Preparation: define a theme and the purpose as well a regulation and rules for evaluating projects. When choosing the duration, think about the nature of the problem;
- Organization: communicate your event, provide a registration form and handle the logistics;
- Execution: prepare the onboarding, give feedback, collect the solutions.
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