RUN A SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE HACKATHON

A CULTURE OF INNOVATION

INNOVATION WITHOUT EXPERIMENTATION IS LIKE A FORGOTTEN DREAM…

Smartbridge Guides and Executes Corporate Hackathons

A culture of innovation actively promotes experimentation, accepts failure through fail-fast approaches, and supports promising ideas through their logical conclusion. At Smartbridge, we put that mindset into practice by conducting our own internal business hackathons every year.

We believe in practicing what we recommend to our clients. During each Smartbridge hackathon, employees form cross-functional teams and spend 12 hours developing a solution around a defined business or technology challenge. Teams then present their concepts, prototypes, and findings to the company. These events help our people explore emerging technologies, test new approaches, and identify practical ideas that can strengthen how we solve problems and deliver results for clients.

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WHAT IS A HACKATHON, AND HOW CAN IT IMPACT YOUR ORGANIZATION?

Think of a hackathon as an opportunity to do things differently…

Innovate and experiment. Let your creativity blossom
Try new ideas and concepts without fear of failure or repercussions
Acquire new skills and learn new technologies
Network and connect with people across the company and external parties who participate
Collaborate with others in a team environment
Make awesome things in a short period of time with agility

Resources with the ultimate skillset contribute to the overall success undertaken in the hackathon. It requires different perspectives to conceive and assemble the overall solution.

Strong technical developer nerds and business savvy team members are a must, though non-technical folks are welcome to join in on the action.

Hear our Transform IT Podcast episode on hackathons!

Hackathons for an Innovative Culture

HOW ARE HACKATHONS DONE?

Before the process begins, generate ideas by sending out a call for topics from employees as well as clients. It’s especially important for clients to know a hackathon is being conducted and they are open to participate. Even if they cannot participate on the day of the hackathon, ensure their ideas are open to be heard and explored.

Decide on topics: It’s best to choose 7 or less topics from the submitted ideas so the hackathon isn’t too disjointed and there aren’t too many teams.
Choose the applicable topics: When selecting topics, choose ones that seem more interesting and can be applicable to clients or services offered by the company.
Select champions: Each hackathon topic needs to be led by one or two key individuals. They will be in charge of planning and managing the team.

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Divide into teams

Hackathons by nature are quick and require lots of teamwork, so it’s important to put together teams of no more than 4-7 people. Assign each team to a topic with a champion.

Make an approach

The planner and champion will need to create a general approach prior to the hackathon. This is a time to make sure teams have everything they need such as infrastructure, data and access.

Make a kickoff deck

The hackathon starts with a kickoff meeting where everyone is informed of what team they are on, what the topic is, where they will be stationed, and the agenda for the day.

Work with admin

It’s important that the planner works with the admin team to sort out all operational planning for the hackathon, such as meals and building security measures.