10 Normal Hackathon Problem You Will Encounter

Laura Angelica updated on 2023-03-23 14:48:53

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In the US, in the last couple of years, a new phenomenon "Hackathon" has been gaining momentum. Every technically advanced and self-respecting company considers it its duty to host such an event. Now hackathons are organized mainly by private companies from a practical point of view: solving certain problems of corporate software, searching for new ideas for developing and improving their own products.

In this article, you can find common 10 hackathon problem statements.

• Part 1: What is Hackathon？
• Part 2: Why participate in a hackathon?
• Part 3: 10 normal hackathon problem statements
• Part 4: The best tool for UI/UX designers

The hackathon doesn't come together with hackers, but rather the word hack here means researching programming. Young companies with flat hierarchies in particular use hackathons to try out new things. A hackathon is a good opportunity to find creative solutions with other inventors in a short amount of time. The most important things at a glance

So, what is a hackathon, we found out. Now let's talk about why choose hackathon and how you can benefit from participation.

Professional Development

For any specialist, participation in a hackathon is an opportunity to test your maximum. This is a challenge and an experiment for which there is not always time at work. Plus, at the hackathon, you can exchange ideas, see how others work, learn about a new way, a method of something - in general, this is definitely an investment in your development as a professional.

Career opportunities

If we are talking about a hackathon for specialists of the same profile, then they are arranged not least in order to gather cool specialists in one place and offer them a job.

Valuable prizes

Everything, of course, depends on the hackathon, but usually, the winners also receive valuable gifts from the organizers, partners, or sponsors of the hackathons.

Networking

And also a hackathon is a lot of high-quality communication and new acquaintances. Even if you came with your team, you will still establish contacts with mentors, juries, or organizers. Each contact has the potential to turn into a benefit - a common project, a job offer, an investment, or just timely advice.

Support for your product/idea

An important part of any hackathon is to support innovative hackathon ideas. Therefore, you can win not only material prizes but also, for example, sponsorship, grant, or training.

The most 10 common problems or mistakes in organizing a hackathon are showing below, read on to avoid facing them.

1. Lack or an insufficient number of experts and consultants

This often leads to participants coming to the hackathon in vain. Not everyone is competent in the causes of the problem. Incompetence can lead developers to a different line of thought and ultimately, they will create something completely different. By inviting a sufficient number of experts, efficiency will increase significantly

The meaning is simple but ingenious. The expert asks questions to the team, answering them, the team comes to the truth or realizes its ignorance. This type of knowledge gained will provide a solid and confident basis for understanding the root of the problem.

2. Sources and data

This topic follows from a previous error. It is important that developers have the maximum possible amount of data, documents, resources (especially if the task of the hackathon is data audit).

3. Venue and technical equipment

An important factor that determines the quality of future products, and the psychological mood of the team, and the pleasure received from work. Agree that it is more pleasant to sit in the forward-center, and not in a mossy house.

If you can still close your eyes to the venue, then not to the technical component. High-speed network access, peripherals, office equipment, presentation capabilities, ports, and adapters - everything you can't do without. Computers that have the ability to work with resource-intensive programs, files, and data will not be superfluous.

4. Clear conditions, deadlines, chat

Providing support during the hackathon is a must. There should be cognitive and understandable information on the subject matter, types of end products, ways of accepting and sending them, time frames limiting development, chat, and consultation of participants without expectations.

5. Summary

If there is a need to select more qualified developers or specific skills, then a resume is a good opportunity to organize this. There is no doubt that the results of the hackathon are not only creating conditions for developers, but also the developers themselves.

6. Communication Gap

A college student with headphones on, smacking away at his keyboard continuously for 24 hours, completely content in his own little world of linked lists and stacks is an image that always came to mind when I thought of a hackathon participant. After attending a hackathon, I discovered that this is not the case. It is critical to communicate with those around you. Talk to potential end-users of the product to learn about their problems.

Include in your product the insights you've gained from talking to all of these people. Talk to your team first and foremost. Before the hackathon, set up a communication channel, such as Slack, and a file-sharing platform, such as Google Drive. Hold short meetings every 3 hours or so to share your progress during the hackathon.

7. Lack of Confidence

One of the most serious hackathon issues is a lack of confidence. Expect to pitch your own project idea to complete strangers (who may or may not be experts) or explain why you are a good candidate for someone else's team. In front of tens or hundreds of people, present your work. It will be scary but exciting, especially if you are shy or introverted.

Hackathons are unquestionably beneficial to one's career. They will make you more aware of your own abilities and thus boost your confidence, which is especially important for female students who tend to undervalue their own skills or achievements more than male students.

8. Look Elsewhere

While some hackathons release their problem statements weeks in advance, others only release them during the hack. If your next hackathon is similar to the first, sit down with your team and research previous hackathon winners, projects that have won other hackathons, and so on. Discussing existing ideas and how to improve them can be a great mental workout for you and your team, as well as a great way to come up with new ideas.

Even if your team has already decided on an idea, I would recommend going through with this exercise because you never know where you'll find a feature that you could add to your project or a component that serves a similar purpose to one in your project but is much cheaper.

9. Lack of Evaluation

Once your team has thoroughly discussed and written down an idea, spend at least 10 minutes estimating how long it will take to implement it. While it may be tempting to add complex but impressive features, spice up the interface, and so on, it may not be feasible to do so in just 24 hours.

Choose only features that can be built during the hackathon. If possible, hold a mock hackathon with your team before the real one to get a sense of the potential problems and the time required to solve them.

10. Big Ideas

Experts advise students on how to narrow their ideas down to something manageable. A grand vision is fine, but having a workable concept is preferable for quick results. Sometimes their concept is so large that even a large corporation would struggle to implement it. To develop something in the allotted time, they must concentrate on a smaller piece.

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Laura Angelica