Hackathon during working hours

We conducted an experiment - a two-day hackathon, during which we did a two-week volume of tasks and enjoyed working.

Birth of the hackathon idea

During the working day, developers have to constantly be distracted. Questions from technical support, tasks from different projects. From vinigreta of tasks at the end of the day, fatigue and the feeling that important tasks did not.

So the idea was to make a major task in the form of a hackathon, where you can not get distracted and focus on one task. It was interesting to see how the focus will affect the speed of work.

I had to participate in these hackathons in which teams compete. These were two-day hackathons at the weekend. They have a festive atmosphere, competition spirit, free pizza, redbull and sleep on the tables or under the table.

When I decided to conduct a hackathon at work, I thought the most about how to make it interesting, because the hackathon will take place during working hours and the work task will be performed. I didn’t even think about the holiday atmosphere, I needed at least a competitive spirit.

The result is the following rules.

Hackathon is held on working days. I immediately refused the idea of ​​spending the weekend, because everyone gets tired for a week and then it’s difficult to work on the weekend after the hackathon on Monday.

No one distracts the hackathon members for two days. It is important to focus only on the task of the hackathon.

The prize is one day off. The reward can be any, but the day off is also a valuable prize.

You can prepare for a hackathon, for example, to read the documentation. You can not only program in advance.

During the hackathon, the team will post achievements. We do this in a group in the Telegraph. This allows participants to see their achievements, and the rest of the staff just wondering.

Hackathon is held two days, from 9 to 18 with a break for lunch. This may seem unsportsmanlike, but our task is to evenly distribute the forces for two days and not to burn out on the first day.

We report on the status of work in the process of hakaton

Progress

On the first hackathon, we did integration with Retail CRM. Usually, the creation of a new integration takes us 2 weeks. We were able to do it in two days. For us it was a great achievement.

Impressions

After the hackathon, we are very tired. But some kind of tiredness, I would say pleasant, because they did it because it worked out. I admit, after the first hackathon I didn’t want to start a new one for a long time, but this sensation has passed, and we are doing about one hackathon per month.

The feeling of teamwork. It is difficult to get in the normal mode of operation, because everyone does his own task, often in different projects. On the hackathon, everyone thinks of the same task. And although they each do their part, they always help if someone fails, and they understand that the success of the whole team depends on his work.

Why does it work

I think our internal hackathons work for the following reasons:

• We focus on one task. This in itself helps to make any work faster.
• Participants help each other. If someone from the team is “stuck” on their task, we solve it together.
• Understandable goal and limited time - help to get together and work faster. Such mobilization is not given for free, we get tired, so hackathons will not work often.

What can be improved

On the last hackathons we began to apply the tomato technique. Its essence is to take five-minute breaks every 25 minutes of work.

Since the hackathon is a marathon, you need to distribute the forces evenly. True, it is difficult to apply the tomato technique; in the heat of work, we often ignore breaks.

Make a checkpoint on the first day. If a key task is not done at the end of the first day, the team is not allowed on the second day and the hackathon ends. Perhaps this will make the hackathon more sporting, and will guarantee that by the end of the second day the goal will be achieved.

Conclusion

In our company, hackathons showed good results. Of course, this method is not suitable for everyone, but if employees have to be distracted often, and everyone works on their task, the hackathon will help to work in a team and enjoy the result achieved. It is only important that they be voluntary, this is the main rule that I did not write above.