Forem: TAIKAI

10 Key Metrics for measuring the success of Software Development Teams

Hélder Vasconcelos — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:05:00 +0000

In Post-Covid Era, software development teams are absolutely reconstructing processes and foundations that they are based on.

New paradigms and trends are emerging in tech organizations, startups, and remote teams especially when the majority of their teams are global, remote, and decentralized.

Organizations are still understanding how to tackle these new issues that are arising in their operations, but the reality is that this is the new normal - for the good or for the bad. 🤩

Our ultimate and main objective remains the same:

Deliver to clients high-quality services and software that simplifies their processes.

With remote teams spanning throw multiple time zones, levels of proficiency and cultural backgrounds, engineering managers in traditional organizations have to continually adjust their methods for optimal productivity and efficiency.

As a Software Engineer Manager or Technical Lead, our main role is to guide and educate our teams to deliver flawless and exceptional software that makes our customers come back and our community proud of 👏.

Since TAIKAI's genesis, we have been constantly monitoring the quality of our software, measuring team performance, and checking customer satisfaction to make sure that the company is heading in the right direction to achieve our grand vision. 🚀

During this long and hard journey, we identified the so-called Northstar ⭐️ metrics for our software teams, which help us to improve our processes and deliverables.

So let's find out what metrics are we talking about 👇

The 10 Key Metrics to Measure the Success of Software Development Teams 📏

1.Bugs/Month

These are the number of bugs identified during the month period. Knowing the phase in which a bug was reported is key to determining whether it had been identified too late when the software has already been released and is being used by customers.

2. High Priority Bugs Ratio %

These are the number of high-priority bugs divided by the number of low and medium-priority bugs identified.

3. Bugs/Month Detected in Production

This metric refers to the number of bugs detected in production during the month period.

A healthy development pipeline should be optimized to identify potential issues as early in the process as possible via code review, QA testing, and staging. That said, every once in a while an issue or bugs are only detected when you are in production in front of your crowd 😭.

Although it's natural to happen and part of the software manager's job, an abundance of bugs being noticed in production shouldn't be taken lightly.

When a high percentage of bugs are detected in production, it signals that measures must be adopted to improve your testing and code review processes before any more issues arise.

You can increment the number of code reviewers, review the QA process or analyze with the team what could be improved to decrease this fundamental metric.

4. Velocity/Month

The number of story points delivered by a team during a month. This allows us to verify if productivity levels and deliverability remain at a constant pace.

During festive periods such as December or August, for example, the velocity normally drops by 50%, but this is something that completely aligns with our market cycles.

One thing that I truly don’t recommend is to use this metric to compare teams. Every team has its own set of processes for estimating stories, making it unwise to attempt to compare apples and oranges.

5. Velocity/Sprint

The Number of Story Points per sprint by the whole team. We use this metric to benchmark sprints against previous team sprints, so that we can identify blocking contexts on teams.

The reason for velocity drops are extensive, so be sure your team is able to identify the source of the issue before you implement measures. Poor onboarding processes, low team-motivated teams, bad story plannings, or a high number of drop-ins can ruin the team's delivery and health.

6. Velocity/Developer

This metric refers to the velocity of a team divided by the number of team members it has. In a perfect world, adding team members should lead to improved speed and efficiency. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in reality.

When you have onboarding periods, productivity can be adversely affected. In larger teams - where expertise is diffused across various levels - senior developers could experience a drop in efficiency due to the time consumed when mentoring junior developers.

Be sure to find the right size for your team, otherwise, you will end up getting a very low velocity per developer ratio.

7. Delivery Ratio % (Velocity/Commitment)

This is the ratio between the number of story points committed at the beginning of the sprint versus the number of story points delivered.

If the ratio dips below 60%, it is a clear sign that something went wrong with the team planning or they are experiencing roadblocks on their journey that need to be addressed promptly.

8. Bug Time to Fix (50th percentile) Days /Month

The number of days that the team usually takes to deliver a fix for 50% of the bugs. This metric safeguards your "Time to Fix" KPI from being skewed by an anomalous sample, ensuring that you get accurate insights.

9. Bug Time to Fix (Average) / Month

A traditional average for the time to fix all the bugs closed during a month.

10. Bug Time to Fix High Priority Bugs (Median)/Month 🐞

The number of days that the team usually takes to deliver a fix for 50% of the bugs.

11. Bug Time to Fix High Priority Bugs (Average)/Month 🐞

Average of all the High Priority time to fix” bugs.

Usually, these last two metrics are extremely important in our development cycle. High-priority bugs usually have an impact on an end user so we try to prioritize the delivery of these bugs in our development pipeline.

...

This simple framework was formulated to streamline our development process and eliminate decisions based on intuition and gut feelings.

When you manage a significant number of global software teams your role is to design the foundations, create a good developer experience, and have a single ruler to manage and assess them fairly.

And what better than numbers to manage a computer science team? 😲

"Numbers don't lie" 💯

The challenges of collecting metrics from tracking tools

I personally really believe in this motto, “Numbers don't lie” so the only way to have a broader perspective of the output of our two development teams is to look at metrics and act accordingly to mitigate risks and improve efficiency and productivity.

Most of the metrics described above could not be exported from traditional issue-tracking tools, at least for now. Sometimes you need to bring up your inner ninja script skills to collect all the information from the reports generated by your tracking tools.

One of our team resolutions for 2023 is to export these metrics automatically and get rid of the manual process required to collect them.

Maybe this could be a topic for another technical blog post. 🤞

Benefits of implementing this framework

This framework was created in a very specific context to measure our teams, notwithstanding, we firmly believe it can be implemented in other contexts - from larger organizations to teams that operate on agile methodologies.

To get these metrics from your issue management software sometimes you need to do manual work, but the effort completely pays off when you identify trends and you are able to act and guide your team to find the perfect strategy to mitigate a problem.

At the end of the day, that is the main role of a Software Manager, CTO, Team Lead, or Engineering Manager: to help our teams deliver high-quality software that stands up in front of your crowd.

Nothing should worry you more than this, especially if you are fully committed to growing a startup that wants to become a reference on the market.

Aim to deliver flawless customer experiences

When I wake up in the morning, my goal is to ensure that the members of my team are inspired, motivated, and have all of the necessary resources at their disposal to produce outstanding products.

This could not be the silver bullet framework to achieve success, but we believe it serves as a starting point for any team to start looking more carefully at their deliverables and outputs.

I like to think of the software development process as a traditional factory. It's critical that our processes are efficient and organized, with trained resources who comprehend their mission within each division.

This ensures a steady output in an expeditious manner from all members working together at the same pace.

Final Thoughts 🤔

At TAIKAI Labs, as a customer-centric company, our main goal is to deliver flawless experiences, and we are obsessed to detect issues as soon as possible in our development pipeline.

We tend to optimize our teams to reduce the number of bugs detected in production and have a low bug time to fix issues that have an impact on the user experience or are high priority.

During the last couple of years, this obsession had a good impact on our growth.

If we take a closer look at our Customer Satisfaction Score, we can surely conclude that they are truly satisfied with the service and quality of our delivered software and usually come back to work with us again without looking for another competitor just around the corner.

I hope this article was useful to you as it was useful for us. You are welcome to send us any kind of feedback to improve our efficiency in measuring our software teams. This framework, born from great discussions, is truly our team effort to achieve a proficient and successful delivery team.

Time to focus and keep BUIDLING 💪 🧑‍💻

Happy 2023 Coding, hope to come back soon with some new thoughts about software engineering.

The best projects from ETH Lisbon 2022

carlosmendes-taikai — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 11:45:41 +0000

One of the best ETH events in 2022, ETH Lisbon, took place from the 28th to the 30th of October. This Ethereum-focused hackathon had over 330 participants and 97 projects delivered using TAIKAI’s hackathon platform.

This large number of developers did not happen by chance. In addition to the ability to create innovative projects, the total prize was $20,000, with the best 10 projects earning 2,000$ each.

There were also sponsor bounties worth up to $118,500!

In order to compete for these prizes, participants teamed up using TAIKAI’s matchmaking system, resulting in 97 projects delivered that were evaluated by 13 juries.

We’ve analyzed the projects and compiled a list of the best ones, divided by categories.

The best DAO and DeFi projects from ETH Lisbon

Lekker Finance

Before we get into the details of this project, which was named one of the top ten hackathon projects at ETH Lisbon, it's important to understand that it uses the Euler Protocol, an Ethereum-based non-custodial DeFi (Decentralized Finance) protocol that allows users to lend and borrow almost any crypto asset.
This is important to understand because the Lekker Finance project's goal is to allow users to enter leveraged positions via Euler.
The hackathon system works as follows: positions can be opened in a single transaction using flash swaps, making the process easier for the end user. It's no coincidence that the project’s slogan is Leverage Made Simple.
Typically, in order to obtain leverage, users must execute multiple loan-swap-loan transactions, resulting in a complex manual process and high fees.
Also, this makes loans and investments more difficult to trace and exit.

With Lekker Finance, interest rates are reduced by simplifying the process on a single transaction, as opposed to what happens in centralized exchanges, for example.

GlacierDAO

Elected as one of the Top 10 hackathon projects of ETH Lisbon, GlacierDAO has proposed a Decentralized Autonomous Organization that preserves open-source code as a public good.
The project's authors argue that code, like data, should be preserved in a censorship-resistant manner.
The concept arose after some developers complained that their GitHub accounts had been suspended for writing tornado cash codes.
To clarify, tornado cash works as a token mixer, used to shuffle transactions in a way that makes tracking difficult in public blockchains like Ethereum.
To ensure the preservation of open source, GlacierDAO conducts a call for funds every quarter. Individuals donate funds to cover the costs of preserving codes in exchange for NFTs.

On the other hand, a call for URLs is issued at the same time, which means that individuals can submit URLs to code repositories that they believe are valuable.
URLs are placed on a list for those who contributed funds to vote on whether the code should be preserved.
The funds raised will then be used to ensure the code's preservation on the FileCoin Network, an open-source peer-to-peer network that stores files, protocols, and incentive layers. In other words, users pay storage providers to store their files and this payment is made through investors in the GlacierDAO strategy.

BibliothecaDAO - Realms Assassins

Bibliotheca DAO is a web3 game development studio that creates on-chain games for StarkNet, a permissionless decentralized Validity-Rollup (also known as a "ZK-Rollup").
A team from Bibliotheca DAO developed a solution on ETH Lisbon to hide one player's information and expose it only when other players meet on-chain conditions.
They accomplished this through the use of a trusted 'dungeon master' (third party) who stores private information to enable multiplayer on-chain games, achieving an on-chain without the ZK hashing construction.

To get it done, they used the game Realms Assassins – Fog of War as an example. The project was also one of the 10 hackathon winners presented on ETH Lisbon.

The best crypto wallet projects

Archive the Web

This project was also named one of the hackathon's top ten projects and won first place in the Wallet Connect best public good bounty.
The idea was to create an automatic website archiving system based on web3 protocols that could be paid for with a variety of crypto assets, acting as a decentralized backup of the world wide web.
The "Archive the Web" system enables users to automate website archiving on the Arweave decentralized protocol at predetermined intervals (for example, every 60 minutes) for an approximate duration (for example, 365 days) and pay for data storage with ETH, ERC-20, or AR.
It means that users can permanently and automatically save information, apps, and other content (such as images or web apps), preventing data published on the internet from being lost, as happens in many cases every day.

To achieve this, the Archive the Web team created a custom Metamask and a WalletConnect button that allows direct interaction with Arweave and uses the arp Ethereum signer to interact with Smartweave contracts via ETH/ERC20 wallets.

WalletConnect meets Self-Sovereign Identity

Winner of the Wallet Connect Best Mobile UX bounty, this project extends the WalletConnect V2 protocol stack to enable Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), exchanging Decentralized Identifiers and W3C Verifiable Credentials in a secure, privacy-respecting, and user-friendly manner.
But don’t take our word for it.

Testamint

Testamint, one of the zkSync bounty winners, is a social recovery mobile dApp project that uses zkSync account abstraction to allow account recovery by a group of trusted people after a predetermined interval of inactivity.
It specifically addresses three issues: lost keys, lost passphrases, and death. Yes, that's right: if a cryptocurrency holder passes away, family members can recover it using this dApp.
The solution connects wallets through Wallet Connect and allows users to create a list of family members, set up periodic reminders to prove the user is still alive, and record a video testimonial that will be delivered to family members if the user fails to prove he or she is still alive.
Furthermore, the solution provides the user with the "still here" button to complete a transaction and prove the user is still alive.

The best dApps and smart contract projects

Smart What?!

During ETH Lisbon, this project, which promised to be a Google Translator for Smart Contracts, was rewarded in the Wallet Connect - Best Mobile UX bounty category.
The idea was to help web2 users understand smart contracts better by "translating" smart contract contents. The goal is to make smart contracts and the web3 world more accessible by providing a thorough understanding of the content.
The mechanism is quite straightforward. Users only need to paste a smart contract URL to get a full translation that anyone with web2 code/math knowledge can understand.
Then, it is possible to save these translations or use Wallet Connect to upload them on Filecoins IPFS.
This tool can also be used by auditing firms to review smart contracts. It saves time and allows less experienced team members to get an audit started.
You can test it right now by entering the URL of your smart contract on the Smart What website.

SafeCheck

This fantastic tool was one of the top ten winners of the ETH Lisbon hackathon. The team's concept was to design a solution that could provide users with information about the outcome of transactions and the addresses they are interacting with, before sending transactions.
In other words, users can analyze smart contract data and transactions before signing them.
SafeCheck can be added as an extension to MetaMask accounts or used directly on the web app by entering a smart contract number and letting SafeCheck inspect it. Additionally, transaction calls can be simulated directly from the web app.
Here's a sample of the SafeCheck web app interface:

And here is how it works when connected with MetaMask:

Trust score snap

This intriguing project was chosen as one of the top ten projects from the ETH Lisbon hackathon. The idea is to show color flags that indicate how safe it is to interact with specific smart contracts: green (safe to use), orange (warning), and red (dangerous).
It acts as a MetaMask Snap extension that reads and categorizes smart contracts based on a security suspicion standard determined by Trust Score.
The project's authors intended to provide users with non-technical information using a simple way to determine whether a smart contract is safe to interact with.
The system automatically analyzes quantitative and qualitative data about a smart contract, such as its popularity (how many people have interacted with it), time of existence (contract age/antiquity), frequency (recent number of interactions), repetition (how many times each user has interacted with the contract), and so on.
Here’s an example analysis:

Honorable Mentions

Overall, the ETH Lisbon hackathon had some pretty amazing projects!
Curating this list was a tough task too. In total, 97 incredible projects were delivered but it would be too much information to include them all here.
However, to provide a better overview of the event, we compiled a list of "honorable mentions", which is comprised of a handful of projects that caught our attention.

Zilly

This creative idea was rewarded as one of ETH Lisbon's best projects. The Zully project proposes an embeddable widget for developing Web3 membership programs that increase brand engagement and loyalty.
The project's concept is based on users receiving a membership card and accumulating loyalty points by completing on-chain and off-chain quests.
In exchange, they receive a customizable NFT membership, granting users social status and increasing their sense of belonging to a brand community.
There is a utility shop on the widget where users can spend points to get perks and exclusive benefits.

Multi Resolver Snap

The Multi Resolver Snap project provides a solution for creating a friendlier web3 environment for both users and developers.
The author's idea was to create a snap on MataMask that allows users to send cryptocurrency in a more straightforward manner. It is possible to send crypto to anything using Multi Resolver, such as Twitter names, emails, phone numbers. In other words, this snap enables users to convert any object to an address and send value transactions.
According to the author of the project: “This multi-resolver MetaMask Snap enables dApps to send transactions to string-type handles that can take on a multitude of origins.
Instead of integrating multiple domain services and resolvers individually, dApps can now simply call this snap and let MetaMask do the rest”.

Authsome

This project won the Fuel Labs bounty at ETH Lisbon. Authsome creates a multi-signature wallet with the Fuel Virtual Machine (FuelVM) predicate system and the Sway programming language (Fuel's own domain-specific language).
This multi-signature wallet is then used to power a pluggable authentication infrastructure, much like Web3Auth works.

Here’s how it works:
The user logs in to Athsome using their Fuel email and password. Then, Authsome generates three keys automatically: one is password-encrypted and sent to the backend service; another is stored in the browser's local storage; the third is saved in a file for manual recovery. Following that, the user can make payments.

For the ones who do not know Fuel, it is a fast execution layer for modular blockchains, and FuelVM is one of the central technology pillars, designed to reduce wasteful processing in traditional blockchain virtual machine architectures.

Final Thoughts

ETH Lisbon hackathon was incredibly fun, exciting and competitive. These challenges provide a space for developers, innovators and enthusiasts to brainstorm ideas and develop projects that help the web3 space grow.
This hackathon was also an excellent validation that hackathons are here to stay. We learned a lot from these projects and shared a glimpse of the obstacles, iterations and opportunities available right now.
Now it's up to you! Browse our hackathons page and start building today.

Host hackathons at TAIKAI

TAIKAI's hackathon platform is the perfect place to host your web3 hackathon.
No matter if the hackathon is online or hybrid, we can help you drive innovation and engagement.
Here's a glimpse of what our platform offers:

Simple communication among all parties involved: organizers, participants, and mentors;
Logical and user-friendly hackathon page for organizing and presenting content, rules, prizes, timeline, and updates;
Matchmaking system: Allow participants to team up and form groups based on each one's abilities;
Submission projects: Enable rich formats in project submissions including images, videos, and attachments;
Live streaming: Broadcast content, such as lectures and workshops;
Transparent voting system: Tokens are used to evaluate projects, ensuring transparency and equal opportunities.

Request a demo today and take your hackathon to the next level.

dappKit — The simple way to start your web3 project

Hélder Vasconcelos — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 12:47:47 +0000

As developers 👷‍♀️👷👷🏽‍♂️, we are all familiar with the frustration of having to repeat several operations that can be automated. While writing code from scratch it’s the most effective way to develop a custom structure, it’s also time-consuming and inefficient.

When it comes to web3 development, things can get a little more complicated.

In an emerging market, new frameworks often appear intimidating and hard to master. As a result, we built dappKit: a free web3 SDK that allows developers to create web3 products and features, in as little as three lines of code.

The dappKit framework allows developers to create web3 projects, without having a steep learning curve.

A powerful introduction to web3 development
When we first started developing dappKit, our main concern was creating a framework that was easy to use, well documented, and had the potential to create a world of web3 features and apps.

With dappKit, you can save hours of work by not having to repeat operations and write web3 code from scratch. It also enables you to create a thin layer around custom smart contracts and deploy them effortlessly.

Check https://dappkit.dev/ and start your web3 development

What is dappKit?

dappKit is an easy-to-use framework that builds the foundations required to interact with blockchain nodes. The software development kit allows developers to create and integrate web3 apps with as little as 3 lines of code.

The dappKit can be used by developers, regardless of their experience with web3 programming languages. Web and Javascript/Typescript developers with no Solidity experience will feel completely comfortable using dappKit to interact with EVM standard contracts (ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC1155) and develop web3 products.

It can also be used by creators, gaming studios, enthusiasts and businesses looking to implement NFTs, DAOs, crypto tokens and many other web3 features into their current product and service offerings.

We want to dispel the myth that web3 development requires years of experience and extensive knowledge. Our framework provides the foundation for you to start right away and develop a variety of products and web3 features.

By using dappKit, you don’t have to deeply understand how to connect to a blockchain; simply specify the EVM RPC endpoint (Ethereum, Avalanche, Fantom, Moonbeam, etc…) and you are ready to deploy, read, and interact with smart contracts.

Moreover, the dappKit transpiler can also be used to generate a typescript/javascript SDK for your custom smart contract.

It serves no purpose to have an excellent framework without the appropriate documentation, so we dedicated a significant amount of time to writing, demonstrating, and detailing the most significant use cases that our library can serve.

In addition, you can always rely on our team and community of web3 developers for support in any circumstance. We will try our best to help you on your #web3 mission.

Of course, contributions and feature requests are more than welcome and appreciated :)

In the upcoming months, with the launch of Bepro Network v2, TAIKAI Labs will decentralize the development of this library by giving the power to our community to manage the destiny of this SDK.

Start a web3 project in three steps with dappKit

Install dappKit — available as an npm package;
Select which type of project you want to develop (crypto tokens, NFTs, etc.);
Create a web3 connection — A very simple way to connect your app to the web3 Environment.

That’s all it takes to start your web3 project with dappKit.

What can you develop with dappKit?

Using dappKit, you can create a variety of web3 applications, such as:

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)

Create, Deploy and Mint your own NFTs following the industry standards (ERC-721 or ERC1155).

import { Erc721Standard } from “@taikai/dappkit”;

const nftToken = new Erc721Standard(
{ web3Host: “http://localhost:1337", privateKey: “*” },
“0xContractAddress”
);

await nftToken.start();
await nftToken.mint(“0xWalletAddress”, “tokenId-1”);

ERC-20 Tokens

Launch your own ERC-20 tokens. It can be used as currency, as tokens to reward your users via gamification techniques. You cab even tokenise your DAO or a token any asset.

import { ERC20 } from “@taikai/dappkit”;

const erc20 = new ERC20(
{ web3Host: “http://localhost:1337", privateKey: “*” },
“0xContractAddress”
);

await erc20.start();
await erc20.transferTokenAmount(“0xWalletAddress”, 100);

DeFi platforms

dappKit comes preloaded with default DeFi smart contracts you can use to jumpstart your business, using Sablier, Loophole or other contracts.

import { Sablier } from “@taikai/dappkit”;

const sablier = new Sablier(

{ 
web3Host: “http://localhost:1337", 
privateKey: “*” },
“0xContractAddress”
);

await sablier.start();
await sablier.withdrawFromStream(1, 500);

DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations)

Base your DAO on our Network and take advantage of a community-made smart contract (Vote contracts and network contracts).

You can also build DeFi platforms, predictive markets, gaming apps, and features on your website, such as a crypto wallet connection.

import { Network_V2 } from “@taikai/dappkit”;

const network = new Network_V2(
{ web3Host: “http://localhost:1337", privateKey: “*” },
“0xContractAddress”
);

await network.start();
await network.lock(205000);

Develop your own web3 products with dappKit

An open-source SDK
dappKit is an open-source SDK, which means it will be improved and developed in a collaborative public manner on a systematic basis. This way, more developers will benefit from future functionalities, higher code quality, and more flexibility.
If you wish to contribute to the dappKit development, make sure to join our web3 dev community on Github, Discord, and dappKit, where you can also work in development bounties.

Free to use, now and forever 😱

Unlike other web3 SDKs, dappKit is a free framework and it will always be. Even with advanced features.

Web3 projects built with dappKit

Our codebase has already been used to build successful web3 projects such as RealFevr and Polkamarkets.

RealFevr debuted its NFT football collection and ERC20 token on BSC, generating more than +3M€ in revenue for its initial pack sales plus marketplace volume (data from RealFevr).

RealFevr use case

Polkamarkets, on the other hand, used the SDK in the development of their platform, which may be found at https://app.polkamarkets.com.

dappKit framework has been used in its market prediction engine, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) features, backend infrastructure, and solidity framework.

Polkamarkets use case

Who’s behind the dappKit development?

dappKit was created by TAIKAI — a web3 development hub that connects developers and companies using hackathons, bounties, and hiring challenges.

In the early stages of dappKit development, it was named Bepro.js and developed under our Bepro Lab branch.
After a major SDK overall and improvement, bepro.js was renamed dappKit and released as a free, open-source codebase.

Get started with dappKit

dappKit is the go-to framework for developers looking to kickstart their web3 projects. Regardless if you’re a senior or junior developer, the dappKit SDK enables you to save time and flattens the learning curve of web3 development.

Get started with dappKit today at https://dappkit.dev/ and join our web3 dev community.

Be part of the #web3 revolution 💪

HILTI case study: attract and validate talent with hiring challenges

carlosmendes-taikai — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 15:56:44 +0000

Recruitment processes need a significant amount of time and effort, not just for human resource departments, but also for the department for which the position is intended.

Today, we'll show you how to streamline the validation process of hiring a candidate, making it both faster and more reliable, and less dependent on intra-team cooperation.

The HILTI challenge will serve as the basis for our case study. Their challenge was a success not only in terms of generating innovative solutions but more importantly, identifying and recruiting highly skilled talent. You can also learn more about how to recruit talent using a hackathon.

Through this "2021 HILTI Smart Construction" case study, we will address:

What is a hiring challenge
How to use a hiring challenge to attract and validate talent
HILTI's challenge: main takeaways and insights

What's a hiring challenge? 🤔

A hiring challenge is a step in the recruitment process, meant to validate a candidate's hard and soft skills.

Simply put, it's a test for applicants which will determine their competencies, core skills, and commitment to the role they're applying for.

This test can have several steps, depending on the recruiter's needs. It can also be used for a variety of positions, including software engineering, human resources, marketing, product management, and even sales, to mention a few.

About HILTI 👷‍♂️

The HILTI Group provides technologically leading products, systems, software, and services to the global construction and energy industries.

The company, from Liechtenstein, employs 30,000 people worldwide who strive to make construction work easier, faster, and safer while inspiring customers every day.

HILTI invests roughly 6% of its yearly sales in research and development, demonstrating that the company will not discard innovation anytime soon.

2021 HILTI Smart Construction hiring challenge 🚧

The HILTI Smart Construction Challenge was conceived to develop, test, and validate new ideas for complex construction needs.

By using real-world data, participants were invited to develop a concept or solution that uses new technologies like IoT, computer vision and robots, to capture and contextualize relevant data in the field.

In a traditional hiring process, having one challenge is enough to engage with candidates and test their skills. However, HILTI opted to run a hybrid model between a hackathon and a hiring challenge.

This means that on the one hand, the challenges launched aimed to validate solutions to real problems in the construction industry.

On the other one, HILTI wanted to move forward with the best project, offering the winners a position in the company, and the opportunity to turn their prototype into a real solution as a reward.

Challenge results ✅

97 participants engaged
15 projects delivered

The 2021 HILTI Smart Construction Challenge was a success! 97 participants joined the event and 15 projects were delivered at the end.

The challenges ⚙️

HILTI decided not to address a specific problem, but instead, provided a set of challenges that participants could work on.

Here's a quick overview of some of them:

Jobsite visualization: Create a digital jobsite that follows the real world one, capturing data in order to save field visits time on large-scale projects.

Progress management: The tasks completion statuses are still manually filled, making it very time-consuming and inefficient. Developing a process to monitor and track this data will enable smoother operations.

Enable field collaboration: Improve communication between stakeholders and task assignment efficiency between teams, external partners, and experts.

Ensure safe and solid construction: Developing 'smart' applications that collect, monitor, and report safety data metrics, to identify leaks, corrosion, cracks, and other vital maintenance elements.

The importance of adapting the challenge to the position you're hiring for ✔

Setting clear goals and expectations for the challenge is, of course, essential.

Keep in mind that some participants may be approaching the company for the first time.

In addition to demonstrating the company's strategy and goal, you must design a challenge that is tailored to the position, the desired hard skills, and the average experience of the candidates.

Also, don't forget to describe the challenge in detail, as well as the deliverables and the end goal.

Key elements of a hiring challenge setup 🔑

Although the challenge's choice has a huge impact on its outcome, there are other factors to consider in order to ensure an excellent, transparent, and fair execution.

HILTI did an excellent job organizing this recruitment challenge, so we can examine each of the following topics and draw lessons from it:

Timeline ⏳

The length of the challenge varies according to the position you're hiring for, but it should always be aligned with your recruiting process.

HILTI's timeframe was broken down into several steps:

Registration and project submission

Initial HILTI expert review
Semifinals
Refinement of selected projects
Grand final

The projects that advanced were analyzed by each innovation sector within the company and the best ones were selected for a presentation in Paris, in a multi-day event.

Main takeaway
One of the reasons we loved HILTI's challenge so much is because they did things differently. By hosting such a unique hiring challenge, they showed everyone why innovation is what drives businesses forward.
We are not expecting this challenge to be replicable in every company, but instead, to provide some really solid ideas when it comes to recruiting highly specialized talent.

Resources 🧰

Without a doubt, presenting the necessary resources to the participants is one of the most critical elements of a hiring challenge.

HILTI didn't hold back and provided a comprehensive and applicable source directory for the challenge, including graphics, documents, statistics, CAD files, among other materials.

It is critical to analyze the provided information before initiating a challenge, as it may not be enough for innovators to construct a well-designed project. However, you should also point out that external research should be conducted by the participants.

The position 🥇

As we mentioned earlier, the goal of this recruitment hackathon was to offer a position in the innovation department at HILTI.

The opportunity could be to develop the winning project and transform the prototype into a fully functional solution, or to become involved in other advanced technology initiatives of HILTI.

The market leader company went even a step further: the chosen top teams were invited to the Finals event in Paris, with travel and accommodation expenses covered by Hilti.

The Winner! 🏆

The winning project came from a solo member and he developed a prototype to track tools usage in day-to-day operations.
By having access to this resource, teams can visualize the data and understand which tools are used, at what time, where, and for what purposes.

Then, by resorting to machine learning, the data extracted could be used to optimize a multitude of work tasks, such as, for example, identifying the best tools for a given task, or even detecting misusage or unsafe manner during tool operations.

Final thoughts 💭

We hope that this case study has given you a better view of today's recruiting challenges, as well as solutions to them. Because of its "outside-the-box" approach, the 2021 HILTI Smart Construction Challenge was a massive success.

Unlike a conventional recruitment process, this challenge enabled HILTI to identify exceptional ideas to innovate the construction sector, identify and hire highly skilled individuals, and build brand engagement, reinforcing its position as a sector leader.

At TAIKAI, we began to notice that hackathon organizers saw significant potential in the best participants, and it was quite typical to reach out to them at the end of the hackathon to recruit these talents.

After all, being a hackathon winner indicates that they understand the company's challenges and are already aligned with its mission and vision.

Companies see a candidate who has already shown commitment, dedication, and effort in the development of a project. The hard skills validation has already been completed, thus the final step is to recruit them.

TAIKAI's purpose is to provide a bridge between the community and organizations. That's why we're incredibly excited to share that we're working on a hiring challenge tool!

This technology seeks to help businesses attract and validate talent more quickly and reliably, while applicants can earn KAI tokens by executing the project. This way, we can provide an incentive for the community to apply for a certain vacancy, and you can be confident that the applicants are interested in your hiring challenge.

We are offering a one-month free trial (for one hiring position). If you'd like to try out our tool, feel free to contact us!

How to master open hackathons: CASSINI case study

carlosmendes-taikai — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 10:18:11 +0000

Have you ever wondered what it takes to run a successful open hackathon?

We analyzed the CASSINI hackathon in detail in order to provide you with insights from our client, so you can easily repeat them step-by-step and structure your next hackathon.

CASSINI makes up for a great example. They already have previous experience in organizing hackathons and were able to gather more than 500 participants! Also, the hackathon took place simultaneously in 10 different countries!

In this article we will cover:

CASSINI program
About the Hackathon
About the participants
Results obtained
Key Insights

First, there are two different types of hackathons: internal and open hackathons.

Today, we’ll focus on the latter, but if you want to know more about in-company hackathons we suggest you read our Taboola case study.

Before we discuss the hackathon itself, it’s important to understand what’s the CASSINI program about, and the scope of the challenge.

CASSINI: An European Union initiative 🇪🇺

CASSINI Hackathons and Mentoring are a series of six, bi-annual hackathons, organized by the European Union to address global issues through European space technologies.

These hackathon series are part of a bigger EU action plan for the years 2021 to 2027, which includes the CASSINI Seed and Growth Funding Facility, CASSINI Matchmaking with investors and large enterprises, CASSINI Business Accelerator, and others.

The hackathons took place in ten cities across Europe and provided participants with access to pre-processed Arctic data, on-demand training, and other essential tools to support them in addressing one of three challenges.

The purpose of this hackathon

The Space Entrepreneurship Initiative aimed to encourage a market-driven space industry in Europe, and CASSINI hackathons have a very important role in this program: to reach creative, young people, interested in developing innovative digital applications based on space data and potentially becoming entrepreneurs.

The Hackathon: Connecting the Arctic 🐻‍❄️

575 participants
84 projects delivered
2 months total duration

We’ve talked about how the hackathon initiatives are part of an EU space program, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into space exploration or going to Mars.

The Connecting the Arctic hackathon focused on finding solutions for the most pressing issues facing the Arctic region through space technology tools, such as Galileo and Copernicus satellites.

Utilizing space tech to address climate issues is a great example of how you can leverage the resources you have, in order to reach a broader audience.

The challenges

This hackathon was comprised of 3 different challenges:

Challenge #1: Ensure safe transportation at sea.
Participants were urged to research navigation route optimization, extreme weather and sea ice warnings, future shipping lane expansion and connectivity, and environmental disaster and emergency management.

Challenge #2: Life on Land
Participants were compelled to look into subjects including environmental monitoring and climate change mitigation, renewable energy breakthroughs, and improved connectivity for remote research stations.

Challenge #3: Caring for our Wildlife
To bring the concept to life, participants had at their disposal European space data, signals from secure connectivity infrastructures, Copernicus, Galileo, and EGNOS satellites.

Structure & Timeline ⌚

In order to host a successful open hackathon, you must take into account the timeline and structure of the event.

Too little time between stages can become a huge problem later in project development, but too much time might seem like a never-ending challenge for participants, and eventually lead to a sense of disconnection.

The CASSINI hackathon structure was split into three phases:

**
Registration phase: 2 months**

There isn’t a perfect answer when it comes to choosing for how long you should have registrations open, as it highly depends on your capability of reaching the desired number of participants.

As a rule of thumb, it’s better to have a more extensive deadline rather than reaching the final day and ruling out potential participants.

- Big ideas campaign: 3 days

CASSINI also ran a series of online events 3 days before the closing registration deadline. This was a great experiment for many reasons:

Provided information to participants about the challenge and the supporting data;
Gave them a window to find teammates and network;
Generated hype and buzz around the event, leading to more last-minute registrations.

Hackathon event: 2 days

The moment all the hard work comes together into play. The event duration is typically one or two days for most hackathons but can go all the way up to five days.

Demo day & awards: 1 day

The presentation and voting are usually on the last day of the hackathon event, however, CASSINI chose to do it a few days later, given that the projects had to be validated first by the local organizers.

Collaboration with local partners 🤝

CASSINI Hackathons are held in 10 different locations simultaneously, and in order to do that, they must rely on competent local entities to ensure the hackathon is done properly.

For the second hackathon edition, the chosen countries were:

Croatia 🇭🇷
Finland 🇫🇮
France 🇫🇷
Germany 🇩🇪
Iceland 🇮🇸
Italy 🇮🇹
Latvia 🇱🇻
Romania 🇷🇴
Slovakia 🇸🇰
Spain 🇪🇸

Opening applications to external organizations was very important in order to obtain such a high number of participants.

Local organizations worked as promoters and spread the word about the event. In turn, they had the chance to cooperate in a European Union space program, access networking opportunities inside the EU, and position themselves as market leaders.

Prizes and Rewards 💶

The “Connect the Arctic” hackathon had two categories of prizes. The main prize was 100 hours of mentoring, awarded to the top 3 overall winners.

However, CASSINI went a step further and also rewarded the top 3 projects by country with monetary prizes ranging from 250€ to 3000€, depending on the region and placement, plus a shot at an incubation program in some countries.

Having these incentives meant that in total, 30 teams would qualify for a monetary prize, even if they weren’t considered the best 3 overall.

Mentors and Judges 🧑‍⚖️

In this open hackathon, CASSINI had 35 mentors and a panel of 11 judges.

Let’s break it down:

The high number of mentors is directly correlated to the prizes given by CASSINI. Even though there was also a monetary incentive, the biggest reward for innovators was the 100 hours of expert mentoring. By having a varied number of mentors, they could reinforce the value of the prize.

As for the juries, the main takeaway is that they should have considerable knowledge and experience in the field, as well as be an authority in the community.

You can select judges from your company to evaluate projects, but you can also reach out to other names in your industry.

Now that we've addressed the hackathon, let's move on to the next section and learn more about the community. After all, they are the focus of your hackathon.

How to get more registrations for your hackathon 👨‍💻👩‍💻

It’s not easy to obtain over five hundred participants in a single event!

It’s also one of the reasons we decided to choose the CASSINI hackathon for this case study.

We’ve conducted further research and found key patterns to get more participants that can be replicated in any hackathon.

Community management tools ⚙️

At TAIKAI we provide all the tools you need to host a hackathon, however, we cannot overlook the importance of managing the community throughout the event.

**
CASSINI had two major touchpoints with innovators that can boost your community:**

Creating a landing page is a great way to keep users updated 📃

Even though CASSINI is part of a bigger project (and organization, for that matter), that didn’t stop them from creating their unique website dedicated to this program.

With eye-catching graphics & animations, a clear message, and detailed information about the event, this website had everything a potential participant could be looking for.

Use Discord as a hack to engage with your community 💬

Discord, Slack, or other chat-based apps are one of the best ways to engage with your audience.

Most of the tools are freemium, but you can also take a look at the resources you already have at your disposal. Just note that the tool must be easy to access and use.

Overcomplicating can have a negative impact on the number of innovators that join your channel.

Find your ideal participant ✔️

Having a clear understanding of who your participants are is crucial to the success of the hackathon, as even the slightest mistake in your target audience can have a meaningful impact later on.

For example, if your hackathon’s goal was to manage big data and create a better annual report for your company, you’re probably looking for data analysts. Targeting professionals from every computer science field would most likely bring poorer results, than just focusing on data scientists.

*Here are some questions you should ask yourself in order to understand the community better: *

Are we targeting a specific participant role or multiple ones?
What role is that? (Web developers? Data analysts? Product managers?)
Does my challenge have a strong UI/UX/Design requirement?
Are my goals broad or very specific?
Where can I find my target audience?
What social channels and communities do they participate in the most?

As for CASSINI, they chose to widen the participant group by inviting anyone with a passion for entrepreneurship, nature, and EU space technologies to participate.

The emphasis was on skills such as creativity, entrepreneurship, and design, rather than specific roles, like software engineers.

Be flexible ⚖️

The subject of satellite navigation and space technology is so massive, that it could have thrown people away, especially if they didn’t have prior knowledge of the hackathon.

CASSINI knew this could pose a threat and decided to educate the community. They clearly stated that anyone could apply without previous knowledge or experience in EU space technologies, as they would provide the necessary training and data access to help succeed in the event.

Be inclusive 🌎

Furthermore, if a participant was not from one of the 10 local host countries, they could still apply to join the hackathon! Those innovators were simply fitted into the nearest country challenge and would compete there.

Start gathering participants long before the hackathon begins

CASSINI focused on getting users to register in their newsletter.

Email marketing is still a great and effective way to engage with users. On one hand, they chose to subscribe to it, which is a proactive indicator of interest.

Secondly, you can use this channel to keep them up to date with news, schedules and convey any other information you deem important.

Hackathon results 💯

Results recap:
575 participants
84 projects delivered
30 local winning projects
3 EU winning projects

A hackathon is never just a hackathon. Your primary goal is to find a solution to an existing problem, but there are other benefits you can reap.

Here are the main results the CASSINI open hackathon - Connecting the Arctic - obtained:

1. Three great projects selected

The winning projects can be further developed and implemented, creating solutions that help society, wildlife, and transportation in the Arctic region.

*2. Increased brand awareness
*
Not just for the CASSINI hackathon, but for the overall European Union program and space technologies.

3. Engage with a young, hungry, and tech-savvy community

The effects of this event will go way beyond the hackathons. Through CASSINI, the EU is planting the seed in young European innovators, and it has the potential to collect the fruits in years to come.

Key Insights to take from this open hackathon case study 💡

Hackathon recap:
    2 months hackathon duration
    10 co-host countries
    35 mentors
    11 judges

Have a clear, measurable, and obtainable goal of what you want to achieve with the hackathon.
Have realistic expectations about the outcome of the challenge.
Provide complete information about the challenge(s) at hand.
Provide any necessary support data for participants to work on.
Find ways to create hype about your hackathon: Cassini hosted their big ideas campaign 3 days prior to the main event, and that was a great tool to sustain engagement, generate buzz and increase the number of participants.
Evaluate the need and importance of having co-hosts in your hackathon, as they can help you to promote your event and reach to a broader audience.
Conduct research to find the ideal audience for your hackathon.
Engage with your community during the hackathon. Participants will have doubts and questions during the challenge. It’s up to you - the host - to always assist them and make them feel comfortable in the project they’re developing. The quality of their projects relies on having a solid understanding of the challenge.

Final Thoughts 💭

Open hackathons are a powerful tool and can be structured in many different ways. In this case study, we shed a light on CASSINI: a great example of a hackathon done right.

It’s incredible to see that public entities - such as the European Union - are at the forefront of innovation. Hosting not one, but six different hackathons shows the belief of the EU in this type of event, and how it can help to drive innovation.

This hackathon was hosted at TAIKAI: our all-in-one virtual hackathon platform.

We know that learning how to organize a hackathon can be a challenge without the correct tools, so we’ve simplified the process to create a better experience for your organization.

Microsoft, Pfizer, European Union and NISSAN, are just a few brands that have already made part of our amazing challenges and hackathons. Now it’s your turn.
Launch your challenge or request a demo today.

5 Inspiring hackathon project ideas

carlosmendes-taikai — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 17:45:18 +0000

Winning a hackathon is not easy and you know it.

We’ve already shared some tips you should follow to improve your chances of winning one, but everything will revolve around your idea for the project.

There are quite a few articles out there with generic and outdated ideas.

If you really want to stand out from the crowd, you need to understand the context of each project and how they won the hackathon.

We’ll show you examples of real, winning hackathon projects, so you can adapt the ideas to your own project, as you see fit.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned participant, these hackathon ideas should get you inspired and ready to rock 🤘

Winning Hackathon Project Ideas 🥇

1. Dedicated Marketplace and Community Hub 🖼️

The Challenge: #hackARThon

The prime goal of this hackathon was to render NFTs more accessible to a wider audience, while also giving artists more control over all elements of their creation, including distribution and monetization.

Community-oriented hackathons are absolutely fantastic because you feel your work will have a direct impact on people’s lives.

The team behind the “ARTIST-Made” project opted to create a Marketplace and Community Hub that provided limited edition art & design NFT items.

Their goal was to “match lovers of Art & Design, Creative Minds, and Art Community” in a special hub, comprised of a marketplace and mobile app.

This project was incredible.

For starters, it was exactly in line with the goal of the challenge.

Secondly, a marketplace & hub meant that every party would use the platform, not just the artists:

Creators had a place to share their work digitally, get recognition, and most importantly, monetize it.
Art & Design Lovers had a niche platform to share their passion, access exclusive content, and communicate with each other.
Organizations, galleries, museums, and other entities had a social channel to share their events and promote their offering.

The Hack 💻

Community-oriented hackathons are absolutely fantastic because your work has a direct impact on people’s lives. Developing a marketplace & community hub is an interesting approach to connect communities and organizations, especially if you can provide great value for both.

This project idea was extremely well detailed and presented, making it a clear winner of the hackathon and a great source of inspiration for those that follow.

Even though the challenge was focused on NFT technology, you can adapt the idea for other types of industries and communities.

2. An AI, Satellite-based Navigation Platform 🛰️

*The Challenge: CASSINI Hackathon *

The second edition of the CASSINI Hackathon aimed to find solutions to protect and support the precious Arctic region. Open sea mobility, environmental monitoring and wildlife protection were the 3 main categories innovators could choose from.

This hackathon was extremely popular and brought together more than 570 participants!

The “PolarBearings” project was one of the winners.

They created an AI-based polar navigation platform that provided optimal routing for land vehicles in arctic regions, influenced by climate change.

Did you know Arctic communities have to cross frozen lakes and ice roads for both personal and commercial needs? With the increasing temperatures due to climate change, these routes are becoming more and more dangerous.

PolarBearings team tackled the challenge and used two components to craft this brilliant project:

A data platform that uses machine learning;
Satellite data for real-time ice trail safety predictions (using Copernicus) and navigation (using Galileo).

We reached out to Thomas Metcalfe, who was part of the PolarBearings team, and he kindly shared with us their ideation process:

“At first it was all market research. There wasn’t any advantage in building solutions without fully understanding the problem faced in the region. So, we all did independent research and shared our findings in Discord.

Over time, some problems gained our interest more than others - at this point, we began considering solutions.

We had maybe 2 or 3 meetings where we began pitching potential ideas, and through our discussions (and advice from the experts), we slowly eliminated ideas until we arrived at the one we were most confident in.”

The Hack 💻

AI product & service applications are becoming increasingly popular. The demand is also higher than ever.

Obviously, we know that satellite navigation isn’t easily accessible and replicable.

But your focus should be on the AI component, and how this German team managed to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to develop a project that prioritizes safety and reliability.

And while their goal could have been just to design the technical side of the technology, they still managed to prototype a mobile app, define revenue models and detail a future roadmap of operations.

3. Mobile App with a very special feature 🏷️

*The Challenge: d|Code Hackathon *

`D|Code Challenge aimed to provide the Portuguese national post services a solution that could seamlessly read the barcodes containing all the data about a specific package.

The application had to be able to recognize all of the information on the code and display it on the screen.`

“Post it” was the winner project of this hackathon.

The team of just two Brazilians developed a mobile app that delivered on its promise: they created a fast and accurate bus code (similar to a barcode), that could read the item information and present it on the mobile device.

The Hack 💻

Sometimes, less is more. Many hackathons have different challenges, but others have just one target in their minds such as this one.

This project was a huge success since it addressed CTT's key pain point and solved it with a simple and effective tool. The team employed bus code technology to create a reading process that was swift, efficient, and, most importantly, capable of working without an internet connection in remote locations!

They've also integrated this system with the smartphone app, making it easier for courier distributors to operate on a daily basis.

4. AI-Based Violence Detection System 🙅‍♂️

*The Challenge: BitHacks Hackathon *

BitHacks is a platform for AI Social Impact. They reached out to innovators to find solutions for existing social problems, through AI-based applications.

Project “JustView” was one of the winners. The team decided to address social justice, in the form of a very controversial topic lately - police brutality.

The lack of accountability of policemen has been a hot trend - especially in the USA - but with repercussions all over the world.

That’s why the team decided to develop an AI-based violence detection system.

Police officers are using bodycams to record their interactions with citizens, but even then, the “large amount of camera data is not being reliably analyzed, leading to a lack of accountability”.

The goal of this great project was to collect the data, analyze it, and create an algorithm that could distinguish violent from non-violent footage. The latter would then be sent to a third-party human investigator, for further analysis.

The Hack 💻

Once again, the true power of AI is yet to be unleashed. It can (and should) be used for the benefit of the community, just like we’ve seen in this brilliant use case example.

5. Digital stickers for fast & secure ticket validations 🧾

*The Challenge: Tickethon *

`Wiener Linien - Vienna’s public transport operator - is responsible for roughly 180 underground, tram and bus lines.

The purpose of this hackathon was to find ways to improve and speed up the process of both issuing and validating digital tickets.

They also aimed to increase the efficiency of operations, the accuracy of ticket validation, as well as the overall passenger experience.`

“Quicker with a Sticker” project not only had a clever name, but also a clever hackathon idea. They used Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and QR Codes to develop a digital sticker validation system.

This is how the system worked:

`Inspectors were assigned an animated sticker before they started the validation process.

When the user app detects one of the BLE beacons, it starts the verification process using the beacon id via the backend and, if successful, displays the sticker on the user’s screen.

Then, this sticker can be shown to the ticket inspector as proof of a valid ticket.`

This way, it was both easy and fast for inspectors and passengers to show and validate their tickets, significantly reducing queue time and overcrowding.

The Hack 💻

This winning project idea had it all. They seamlessly integrated the digital sticker system within the mobile app and proved that you can find solutions through technology, without needing to re-design major infrastructures.

Digital stickers are a great idea that can be used in a variety of settings, so they can be a great choice for your next hackathon project.

Ask yourself this questions 🙋

When starting a hackathon challenge, you should ask yourself (and your teammates) these questions:

Does my idea align with the hackathon objectives?
Can I implement every feature or do I need to focus on building a Minimum Viable Product?
Will a Proof of Concept be able to show Juries the core value of my project?
Is it possible to run this project in a real environment? (cost, time, and management wise)
Am I taking full advantage of the technologies or assets the organization is providing?

These questions will help you clear your mind, structure your ideas better and write off the ones that don’t oblige to the rules.

Now it’s your turn to hop on a hackathon, get your A-team ready and energy levels high 🔥

We provide an all-in-one hackathon platform and great challenges for you to hack.

Check our latest challenges over here and join the 50,000 innovators taking the world by storm ⚡

6 Brilliant tips to win more Hackathons

carlosmendes-taikai — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 12:48:35 +0000

Hackathons are incredibly fun and exciting events!

But they're also the ultimate endurance, perseverance and skill test. In a short span of time, participants have to gather a team, come up with ideas, develop them and pitch their hard work to a juri.

While it may be overwhelming to handle all of this in your first hackathon, that’s part of the goal - to work better, faster, and develop your skills in the process.

We also know that it can be tough for participants that put in the hard work & effort into a hackathon, but end up empty handed. Don’t let that discourage you though!

At TAIKAI, we like to reward all participants based on their effort, and not just the winning project.
That’s one reason why we are built on blockchain technology and have our own *social token - KAIs - * which you can learn more about here.

Today, however, we want to show you how you can increase your chances of winning more hackathons. We’ve spoken with the community, and more specifically, previous hackathon winners.

Together, we’ve compiled 6 amazing tips that will help you win more hackathons in the long run. Before we head into them, let's take a quick look at the types of hackathon you'll find.

Types of Hackathon

There isn’t a single type of hackathon. In fact, each has its own theme and objectives that participants have to consider. For instance, some are dedicated to developing mobile applications, video games, web applications, operating system variations, etc.

Similarly, some are also niche-based, like health, education, and transport.

Other than that, many hackathons are restricted to using specific languages or frameworks. You will also find many events organized for a certain profile such as students, females, experienced software engineers, data scientists, etc.

6 Tips to Win a Hackathon 🥇

Find the right Team for you 🤝

Choosing the right teammates is one of the core factors that can make or break your chances of winning a hackathon.

When you're building a solid network, it can be difficult to find people who are committed to developing a project from start to finish.
If you know people who have previously participated in hackathons,they should be your first priority because the competition is fierce.

Having experienced partners will undoubtedly be a plus.

The Social HackaCOM was an innovation and communication hackathon that aimed to find solutions for NGOs.

Rogerio Oliveira and his team won the challenge by creating a gamification system for NGOs, after they identified retaining volunteers was one of the major issues for this type of organization.

For him, the most important single factor was identifying the initial team setup.

“You can't win a hackathon or build a house without a good foundation” - he stated. “If you have a good and engaged team, the next stages will be successful.”

As previously said, not all hackathons are created equally.

As a result, you should bring on people who provide value to the team. When putting together your team, choose someone who has a skill set that differentiates them from the rest of the group.

Additionally, you can always rely on *TAIKAI's matchmaking system.+ It's possible to find teammates based on their skills and abilities, and you can also assess their profile, background and other projects in which they have participated.

On the other hand, it's critical that you +fill out your own profile* to the best of your ability, as other team leaders may be looking for someone to help solidify their squad.

If you’re not feeling ready to tackle a hackathon, you can read our article on how to prepare for coding challenges.

Have a clear goal ASAP! 🎯

After putting the team together, it’s time to start working on the concept you want to pursue.

You or your teammates may already have some rough ideas for the project, but you should always do a brainstorming session.

Hear everyone, debate and ask as many questions as you can think of.

This will help you visualize the project, and avoid major setbacks that usually come when you're developing it.

Micaela Raposo was part of the winning team in the HackaBIP hackathon.

The goal of this challenge was to increase community intervention in their neighborhood, whether by developing tools for collaboration between citizens, organizations and local government, or solutions to use public and governmental data.

Micaela’s project, “Get Together”, was focused on developing a platform that citizens could use to engage with organizations and local authorities, by simply using their smartphone or computer.

She told us a bit about her experience:

“Focus on the hackathon, have very clear goals of what you want to do and work with people who you have a connection with.”

Once you have a clear picture of the project, it’s time to assign tasks to your team members.
Since you have picked them for a certain skill set, the assignments should line up. However, some tasks may overlap between teammates, so communication is the key!

Bottom line, the faster you have a clear goal, the more time you’ll have to dedicate to the project development and presentation.

Micaela, once again, was spot on:

"For executing the idea it was very important to have a multidisciplinary team. Everyone contributed with their skills. The (short) time was a challenge, but we managed to do it!”

Choosing Simplicity ✔️

As mentioned earlier, the hackathon is based on a limited time. Therefore, it is better to choose simplicity over complexity.

It’s great to generate multiple ideas while you’re in the brainstorming phase, but you should reduce them and build only the main features and components of your project.

Your focus should be on building an MVP. This applies to all aspects, including programming and designing.

Going for a long code will be much more difficult and takes a lot of time. Plus, even the slightest mistakes will cause errors in your program. In a short time period, making a complex UI or design can also be inconvenient. Choosing simplicity means opting for a shorter and readable code. Similarly, a clean, yet appealing design.

Like Odete Barros, also winner of the Social HackaCOM, stated:

“The delivery of check points was essential for us. We anticipated the order and streamlined the initial idea further.”

Don’t just follow the guidelines, dig deeper 😎

You might be compelled to jump into coding as soon as you read what the challenge is about. More often than not, this leads to teams developing projects based on erroneous assumptions.

You should start by carefully reading the hackathon rules and making sure you comply with them. Next, you should look for support. And when it comes to hackathons, they come in many shapes and sizes!

Most organizations will have mentors or specialists willing to help teams and clarify any doubts along the way. You should always refer back to them and ask for their opinion too.

Many people mistake this with taking an unfair advantage over other teams, but the truth is, the mentor will not do the work for you - they will only guide you in the right direction.

For more complex and large scale hackathons, many hosts also create webinars jam packed with useful information. If you have the chance to, you should always attend them.

Last but not least, stay tuned to any support documentation given by the host organization. It can provide the data you need to validate an idea or even insights that ultimately can give you an advantage to win a hackathon competition.

Don’t forget the PITCH! 🗣

In the end, it all comes down to the presentation. Imagine developing a great project, but nobody understands what you’ve done because it’s poorly presented? Heartbreaking 💔

This is probably the most overlooked aspect in a hackathon, but one of the most important! It can either make or break your entire hard work.

Micaela Raposo shared her experience and how important the pitch was to increase their chances of winning the hackathon:

“We had to prepare a 5 minute pitch to present our project. We prepared a very clear and appealing video presentation, with mostly graphic information and as little text as possible.


While the other projects were very good, we could engage more with the audience and juris, and explain the project in a simple, but effective way. It was very important because it represents everything we did before, and should reflect it. Good and clear communication is essential.”

As a rule of thumb, it would be best if you prepare your presentation in advance or as you go. It will help you strengthen your work and find its weak points.

Make sure to present all the features, operations, and benefits of your application. Usually, there’s a Q&A session held after the team presentation. During this, judges will ask you several questions about your presented idea or concept. They will also point out the demerits and you should know how to defend them.

Moreover, it is recommended to make your presentation short. If the pitch is only 3 minutes long, plan your presentation accordingly. You definitely don’t want to have your presentation cut halfway through because of time restraints. This stage is also highly rated because it shows your team’s thought process and the ins and outs of your project.

Take breaks, have fun! ☕🔥

Just like we said in the beginning of the article, hackathons are enduring, but also fun.

One key aspect many beginners fail to realize is to take breaks. Seriously.

Rogerio Oliveira told us it’s essential that “the team must have a leader, a scheduler and even some pauses for water!”

Drink plenty of water, get your daily dose of Vitamin D and don’t work until exhaustion. It may seem counterintuitive, but the quality of your work will stand out.

*More productivity, more focus and less hours half-awake writing code can go a long way 😉 *

Most of all, have fun!

Get to know your teammates, whether they’re from the same school or live in a totally different continent. Learn from each other. Get to know the host organization better and network with them. You might open a window of opportunity for yourself in the future.

Bonus Tip 💯

We know useful, valuable information is like pure gold. And who better to give some extra advice to beginners other than our experienced hackathon winners?

Here are their thoughts for those starting their first ever hackathon:

“My advice would be for you to focus 100% on the Hackaton, have very clear goals of what you want to do and work with people who you have a connection with, even if you don't know each other and have incompatible schedules! Transmit all you have been doing on a structured, clear and appealing way 🙂” - Micaela Raposo 

“Go for it! Follow the rules, and when you have any doubts or questions, ask others, reread the rules and find your path!” - Rogerio Oliveira

That’s a wrap! 🍬

As the old saying goes, “the value of an idea lies in the use of it”.

To win a hackathon you have to find a good team, set a clear goal, create a simple but effective presentation and take advantage of all that’s given to you.

Combine all of these secret sauces and you will notice a drastic change in your final project.

This is the key to WIN more hackathons in the long run.

Also, if you’re looking to participate in a hackathon, head over to our challenges page and join our community of 50,000 innovators 🔥

4 Amazing company hackathon examples to get you inspired

carlosmendes-taikai — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 12:26:15 +0000

Hackathons are a great way of driving open innovation - their goal is to find solutions for existing problems, develop new products and services, and accelerate corporations beyond what they could do indoors.

Don’t get us wrong.

In-company or internal hackathons are also a great way to drive your business forward, but by launching an open innovation hackathon, you can obtain results from people all over the world, from different backgrounds, perspectives and fields of expertise.

Moreover, sometimes the problem is not just to develop new ideas, but to let go of old habits.

Habits are comfortable. We tend to like confort.

But they also lead us to a funnel vision and make breakthroughs harder.

At TAIKAI, we consider ourselves lucky - we work on a daily basis with incredible companies from all over the planet, looking to put their businesses in the forefront of innovation.

What makes a hackathon great?

You don’t need to be a silicon valley company to have people committed and ready to find solutions for you.

What you need instead is to make sure your hackathon is well-thought, thoroughly prepared, and aligned with the community.

Quick note: We're working on a complete guide to prepare a hackathon. Subscribe to our newsletter and we'll notify you when it's available!

Hence, we’ve compiled four of the best open innovation examples hosted here at TAIKAI - an all-in-one hackathon platform to host and manage your challenge.

We hand-picked these examples not just based on their results, but the entire process that went behind organizing and preparing the event.

In order to come up with this list, we’ve considered the following criterias:

Resources provided by organizations 
Challenges quality 
Community alignment 
Prizes

Without further ado, here are the best company hackathon examples and ideas:

Tickethon by Wiener Linien

145 participants 
45 projects delivered 
20,000€ in prizes + extra perks

Wiener Linien - Vienna’s public transport operator - is responsible for roughly 180 underground, tram and bus lines.

To put it in perspective, on average, there’s about 2.6 million passengers using the Wiener Linien network every single day. Not only that, but their public transport vehicles cover a distance of 214,000 kilometres - which is about the same distance as orbiting the earth 5 times! Because public transportation in Vienna uses a gateless ticketing system, they have inspectors inside the vehicles or outside the stations to validate passengers' tickets.

This, in turn, takes time.

Inspectors try to validate tickets as fast as they can, but there’s always a chance of long waiting lines and overcrowding, depending on the number of passengers at any given period. To make things harder, passengers can use paper or digital tickets, through their WienMobil app.

Wiener Linien conducted research, prior to the hackathon, and found out that there’s been a growth in the use of digital tickets.

While this might seem good at first glance, it actually wasn’t. It took passengers up to 10 times longer to validate the in-app ticket.

The reason?

It all comes down to the steps it takes. Commuters have to find their phone, unlock it, find the WienMobil app, open it, find the tickets tab, and then show the ticket. On the contrary, physical tickets were easier to present because it required a lot less steps - passengers had it in hand, in a pocket, or in a wallet most of the time, and just had to show it to the inspector.

The goal 🎯

Their goal for this hackathon was not to delete the WienMobil app and go back to full paper tickets, but instead, to find solutions to improve and accelerate the digital ticket validation process.

In its core, the challenge was to create a prototype to validate tickets as fast as possible, starting after the passenger located their phone.

The winning project would be the one that could achieve 3 goals: solve the problem, ensure a smooth operation, and improve the passengers' experience.

Main takeaways ✔️

Power to the people ✊

Using hackathons as an open innovation challenge can be the answer to overcome many problems. Instead of outsourcing or trying to figure it out in-company, Wiener Linien used the power of the community to aid them.

And the community showed up! With almost 150 participants and 45 completed projects, it goes to show that the power of hackathons are enormous.

This open hackathon wasn’t meant to reinvent the wheel, either. Instead, the community understood the power and value it provided, knowing they could help millions of people in their daily commute by optimizing a simple process.

Conduct your research 📊

Collecting data has always been important, and more so in today’s digital world. Once you have real, palpable data, you can really understand the scope and dimension of the problem at hand. Knowing that validating digital tickets was taking 10x longer than paper tickets, is a better support data than just realizing it was taking more time overall.

Small steps go a long way 👣

As you can see with this example, innovation comes in different sizes and shapes. Something so ordinary, such as showing a ticket to an inspector, can be a costly and inefficient process for the company behind it and its users. Innovation lies everywhere, and every step of the way.

Data Challenge by Landing.jobs

142 participants 
14 projects delivered 
1,750€ in prizes + social tokens

Landing.jobs is a job marketplace that connects companies with tech professionals, such as software engineers, data scientists, and product managers.

Every year, they research and survey the portuguese tech community and launch their Tech Careers Report: an in-depth report that analyses salaries, schedules, benefits, motivations and other important data in the portuguese tech industry.

The goal 🎯

The goal for this open innovation hackathon was to improve the Tech Careers Report, by analyzing the raw data and developing ways to improve the quality of the insights.

Main takeaways ✔️

From the community, to the community 🤝

Landing.jobs leveraged their biggest asset - the community - in their favor. The TCR is made for them. By having a chance to build on top of it, data experts were able to contribute positively to a better analysis that ultimately, can help the community make better and more informed decisions.

Niche down when you have to 🎟

Even though Landing.jobs has a massive community in the computer science field, they clearly knew the best participants would be the ones interested in data science, specifically. They allowed anyone from the community to join and participate, but the target was clear. Also, who would have more interest in developing a data report other than data geeks?! 😄

Building the Future by Microsoft

101 participants
9 projects delivered
5,000€ in prizes

The tech giant Microsoft returned to hackathons in 2021 and brought us the “Building the future Hackahton”.

After a tough year 2020, this hackathon was meant to drive inspiration and innovative ideas to push the boundaries of technology.

In more practical ways, the challenge of this open hackathon was to come up with solutions on electric mobility, and power a more environmental friendly world 🌎

The goal 🎯

Microsoft challenged participants with not just one, but five different innovation categories, ranging from turning parked cars into sources of revenue for owners, designing infrastructure for shared electric mobility vehicles, to even using blockchain technology for mobility applications.

Main takeaways ✔️

Focus in one category of your business 💡

If your organization is involved in a variety of industries, it may be tempting to organize a hackathon to cover all of them. While this may result in more registrations, the truth is if the themes are too broad, initiatives can become scattered or overly general.

In turn, you might end up with a lot of projects or solutions for diverse segments, but only a few within each category.

Microsoft, a technological business with a wide range of products and services, opted to focus solely on the subject of electric mobility in this open innovation example.

Find the right partnership 🤝

Microsoft partnered with Galp - a portuguese multinational energy corporation, and gowithflow, a startup working towards sustainable mobility. These hackathon partnerships with relevant companies are fantastic. They strengthen the perception of authority and quality of the hackathon, and also provide support during the event planning and mentoring stages.

Social HackaCOM by Instituto GRPCOM

833 participants 
36 projects delivered 
Prizes comprised of over 1500€ in products (tech gear, mentorships & memberships)

Social HackaCOM is an innovation and communication marathon. They focused on digitally connecting academics and professionals with a transformative talent potential, who want to work with purpose and achieve a positive social impact. The Brazilian host, Instituto GRPCOM, focuses on establishing projects that adhere to the group's ethical beliefs and corporate social responsibility principles.

The goal 🎯

This innovation hackathon was open to participants from different fields of expertise, ranging from communications, digital marketing, web design and many others. It consisted of four challenges: performance & optimization based solutions, communication strategies, resource management and remote activities.

Main takeaways ✔️

Co-hosts can go a long way 🔥

Instituto GRPCOM had 7 different co-hosts for this hackathon! Having this many companies promoting the event is bound to bring you some incredible results when it comes to the number of innovators that participate in the challenge.

And they did not disappoint.

With over 800 participants, this is one of the biggest challenges we’ve hosted to date! Also, it was an open innovation challenge, but exclusive to Brazilian residents, which makes this milestone even greater.

Everybody’s welcomed 🫂

While in other hackathons niching down was a great option, it’s not always necessary or adequate.

For this challenge, it made sense to promote it to a broader audience given the context and challenge characteristics. You should always set clear expectations and goals you want to achieve with a hackathon, so that you can later determine what type of participants you want to target.

Now, it’s up to you 🚀

These were only some of the best open innovation examples we’ve hosted here at TAIKAI. The variety of challenges, the scope of the problems and solutions is something quite fascinating to look at when you put them together. From big tech corporations like Microsoft to local companies like Wiener Linien, there’s room for innovation in every industry and every size.

Hopefully, these four hackathon ideas and examples provided you with valuable insights to host your next (or first) hackathon.

TAIKAI is a virtual hackathon platform that makes an online hackathon event much easier to host. If you’re looking for a new way to drive innovation, feel free to reach out to us.

We’re always here to help :)

How Taboola benefited from a company hackathon - 147 ideas in 20 days

carlosmendes-taikai — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 13:33:43 +0000

Online hackathons are a great way of generating ideas and fostering innovation.

There’s one particular type of hackathon that’s often overlooked, but that can obtain incredible results: we’re talking about online company hackathons.

These types of challenges provide incredible opportunities for businesses because they are brewed in-company.

While it’s great to generate solutions from an outsider’s perspective, the truth is, employees have a better understanding of the immediate challenges the business faces: after all, they are the core of the company.

Paired with colleagues from different departments (and sometimes different regions, countries, and settings), your workforce is able to come together, craft solutions & generate ideas, services and products, that most of the time can be quickly applied into the business.

Case Study Overview 📖

Today we want to share with you the case study of Taboola - a major technology company that used and benefited from an internal hackathon using TAIKAI’s platform.

By the end of this case study, we hope you can understand the value of hosting an online internal hackathon and how it can help your own company.

Taboola - Who are they?

First, a little background about Taboola.

Taboola is a digital ad company based in New York City. They run a content recommendation platform that enables companies to advertise through Taboola.

Taboola then shares the content through their network of publishers, which includes MSN, Business Insider, Bloomberg, and many other media platforms and blogs.

It was founded in 2007 by Adam Singolda, and it’s currently home to more than 1400 employees.

In 2020, they reported a whopping $1.2 billion in revenue, with a gross profit of over $300 million. Just recently, at the end of June 2021, they began publicly trading in Nasdaq -so it’s pretty safe to say we’re talking about a giant in the tech world.

Taboola’s goal 🎯

Their goal was crystal clear - bring diverse groups of Taboolars together to create and present innovative ideas on how to grow and improve the company.

Taboola knew and wanted to take advantage of one of their biggest strengths: the breadth and diversity of their employee’s experience.

Meet the Innovation Sprint Hackathon

Taboola understood the power of a company hackathon to generate ideas in such a short period of time, to bring employees together, and to manage everything efficiently.

With that in mind, they designed the Innovation Sprint hackathon.

Taboola gave the participants the opportunity to choose from a set of challenges, according to their preferences and ideas.

They also made it very clear that teams had to be made up of 3 to 6 Taboolars from any part of the company (e.g. Sales Org, R&D, Marketing, PS, TI, etc.), and recommend forming teams that included a wide range of skill sets.

This was very clever from Taboola because it forced employees to co-op with colleagues from different departments.

There were two main deliverables:

A one-page business plan, highlighting the problem, the scope, the solution, and the evidence supporting it.

And a 90-second pitch, showcasing the opportunity addressed, the solution, how it would work and what would be required to pursue the project further if it were to be implemented.

While this simplistic approach might not be feasible in every online hackathon, it’s a great way to compel beginners and make them feel less intimidated by the challenge.

Last but not least, they provided clear judging criteria based on innovation, practicality, pitch quality, link to company goals, and going beyond expectations.

The results... 🔢

Were nothing short of a-ma-zing! 🤯

Taboola was able to gather 799 participants from different areas of the company in just 20 days!

Those employees formed teams that would eventually lead to 147 delivered projects by the end of the Innovation Sprint hackathon.

While the numbers speak for themselves, we’d like to highlight something even greater - the ease of mobilizing a large number of participants, in such a short amount of time, using our platform.

We provide an all-in-one solution for companies - even as big as Taboola - to quickly manage an event that would otherwise take a lot more effort, planning, and money to implement.

If you’ve never considered hosting an internal hackathon, this is your chance to do so.

Here are some of the key benefits:

Fast prototyping of ideas and services

By managing everything under one platform you simplify the process of generating ideas, services and products, and fostering innovation in your business.

Integrating and aligning teams

By doing a quick search on Taboola’s social media, you’ll find out they have employees in Israel, United States, India, Brazil, Thailand, and all over Europe, just to name a few.

With a team of this magnitude and so spread out around the world, aligning teams can be a serious challenge - however - that’s easily fixed with our platform.

Connect the teams with the company vision for the future

By hosting an online internal hackathon and laying out the foundational structure and goals, Taboola was able to connect teams with the company’s vision for the future with ease.

Still not sure if we’re the best platform for you to manage your hackathon or open innovation challenge? Our team is here for you!

Get in touch to know more and experience our collaborative platform with a personalized demo.

Can Hackathons help blockchain companies grow faster?

Rodrigo Nogueira — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:12:16 +0000

The tech world has seen the rise of hackathons, virtual or face-to-face events where people get together to find solutions to a problem collaboratively. They are events where the people who participate collaboratively solve a problem quickly. On the other hand, although this rising is held by technology companies, this methodology can be applied to any sector and industry.

However, for today's article, we are focusing on a strict tech market niche, blockchain! ⚙️ We will discuss and summarize how blockchain hackathons can help companies evolve their digital ecosystem for better results and innovative ideas.

We all know that Blockchain developers learn 📖, hack 👨🏻‍💻, and network 🗣 at events designed to foster innovation around cutting-edge blockchain technologies. Under this format, multiple, fast and effective solutions to the same problem can be developed and serve as triggers for a culture of innovation.

What are the primary industries impacted by blockchain hackathons?

FINANCIAL SECTOR
The financial sector is undergoing a major digital transformation. One of these changes is related to Decentralized Finance, a broad concept encompassing all disruptive technology and digital solutions that remove the need for intermediaries in applications through intelligent blockchain contracts or smart contracts.

An excellent example of this type of transformation is Kiva. A digital marketplace where individuals can lend as little as $25 to create opportunities for people worldwide. In partnership with a global network of local lending institutions, Kiva.org provides loans for more than 3.5 million entrepreneurs and others in need.

They created a blockchain hackathon to support microfinance using a decentralized digital identity platform, empowering borrowers to verify informal and formal past financial history to increase credit for people excluded from traditional financial institutions.

Their objective is to use blockchain protocol to help users record their financial transactions, transfer that information between institutions, and gain access to formal bank accounts. Essentially, improving their customer experience.

GAMING INDUSTRY
GameFi is one of the most blazing recent fads to rise out of the crypto business, joining decentralized money (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with blockchain-based web-based games.

In contrast to numerous conventional web-based games, which work on a "pay-to-win" show and permit players to buy moves up to acquire a benefit over others, GameFi presents a "play-to-procure" model. This idea includes giving players monetary motivations to play and advance through games. Sometimes, this has permitted gamers to acquire full-time pay this way.

ART INDUSTRY
In the art industry, the use of Blockchain and “tokenization” started to increase global access to the art market and reduce transaction costs.

In the digital art world, non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are being used to certify the ownership of works. For example, artist Beeple uses NFTs based on Blockchain technology to create a unique signature for each piece of art he sells, allowing him to track each work, earn royalty payments, and avoid counterfeiting.

At TAIKAI, we have a hackathon with the objective of bringing NFTs to a broader audience and giving artists the chance to control all aspects of their art, including distribution and monetization.

RETAIL SECTOR
Consumers' trust in the retail system is closely related to their faith in the market where their purchases are made. Blockchain could decentralize that trust, shifting that security more to the vendors and less to the marketplace sites themselves.

Startups like OpenBazaar are developing decentralized Blockchain utilities for buyers and sellers without an intermediary and associated fees. Customers buy products using any of the 50 cryptocurrencies, and sellers are paid in various cryptocurrencies.

Louis Vuitton also innovated by creating a platform with Microsoft and blockchain startup ConsenSys for luxury authenticated products through the Blockchain. They name it AURA and allows customers to track their products from design to distribution, protecting against counterfeit products and fraud.

ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR
In the entertainment industry, blockchain-based solution is coming to “take the sleep” of streaming giants such as Netflix and Youtube. With the technology, it is possible to decentralize the encoding, storage, and distribution of video content, thus drastically reducing the cost of video traffic.

VideoCoin Network is an example of a company that is already working on releasing this capital. The decentralized network provides cloud video infrastructure – encoding, storage, and distribution – in the form of a point-to-point algorithmic marketplace. It runs on a new Blockchain where customers spend VideoCoins on renting these services.

E-COMMERCE SECTOR
The use of Blockchain can transform electronic commerce, reducing transaction costs and increasing transaction security. Industry giants such as Walmart, Amazon, and Alibaba have begun to explore this technology and created an innovation ecosystem.

Alibaba, for example, filed a patent for a blockchain-based transaction system in Brazil in March 2020.

On the other hand, Blockchain can play a valuable role in traceability for global commerce, ensuring proof of delivery and securely tracking contract details without the risk of data being altered or tampered with.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SECTOR
Blockchain has been used as an accountability platform in the food and beverage industry that can help reduce food recall and mislabelled products. For example, Blockchain-based tracking can be easily applied as a QR code that, when scanned, shows the complete journey from a product to a customer's cart.

Walmart and Sam's Club have joined IBM's Food Trust network, which uses a ledger distributed on Blockchain. In 2018, retailers asked their suppliers, especially green leafy vegetables, to add their product data to the log by 2019.

Nestlé and Carrefour are also testing a similar service with customers for their mashed potato product Mousline in France. Consumers can gain access to data stored on the project's Blockchain by scanning a QR code on the Mousline packaging, allowing them to see how the product has traveled from the farmer to the Nestlé factory and its Carrefour store.

Blockchain hackathons, a multiverse solution

A hackathon is a relatively simple and resource-saving way to tap into the creativity of the developer and creator scene. But behind the concept exists a bigger world.

A bigger world where more and more companies (yes, blockchain companies are not the only ones to use this methodology) are discovering diverse solutions by promoting hackathons with a developer and creative communities. After all, alternative perspectives result in more, better solutions and creative ideas.

To give you an idea, an online hackathon recently held by a student association of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), with more than 600 participants, developed a series of solutions to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 worldwide.

One of the winning projects was an application that permits users to send letters to nursing-home residents who may feel isolated from friends and family during the Covid period. A project totally focused to drive engagement between users.

On the other hand, in Spain, 2020, there was a hackathon, where hackers from all over Spain will be able to develop innovative technological solutions to respond to more than a hundred social challenges posed by NGOs, foundations, institutions, and universities to build a better world.

One of the solutions was a verified-user acquisition action to increase the number of current users and reach 2.5MM registrations in Waylet. This payment app allows you to pay quickly and securely at Repsol service stations.

In 2021, E³UDRES² was working on a hackathon, 36 hours to attract people of all kinds to act as change agents transforming their neighborhoods into intelligent and sustainable regions and contributing solutions to global challenges, e.g., circular economy, well-being, and the human contribution to artificial intelligence.

One of the challenges was to a Portugal entity, AVIPE, a grapevine consultancy. And the idea was to create intelligent tools to support early detection/diagnostics/monitoring of vineyard infestations. As a result, IoT devices or AI-powered vineyard pest traps were on the verge of being developed.

These examples prove that it’s possible to code for a better world and way of living. So, why cannot change an even more specific niche like the blockchain market that’s naturally digital? To help answer this question, we present a blockchain hackathon solution for the food area.

In 2019, IBM Food Trust™, a sponsor of the University of Arkansas Blockchain Center of Excellence, challenged students to design a solution that would allow consumers to provide feedback on food quality while engaging with pertinent food information. A solution that proves that customer experience, it's important and a base for the company’s success.

Can blockchain hackathons increase innovation inside companies?

At this moment, you know that numerous companies have carried out this kind of work dynamic. Not to speak about Facebook, Google, NASA, or Telcel, which are hackathon "geeks". The digital transformation and the capacity for innovation they want to achieve are why large organizations hold these hackathons. In other words, they always seek new business challenges.

Through them, blockchain companies can strengthen their digital security (payment methods, cybersecurity, customer service, user experience, etc.), support innovation and entrepreneurship, facilitate financial management and education and detect, promote and retain talent.

At this moment, we know how hackathons can help generate business ideas and viable products. So, what's the next step? Check out some benefits of how hackathons can help blockchain companies grow faster.

Why Your Blockchain Company Should Run A Hackathon?

Different eyes, different solutions
Over 80% of Fortune 100 companies conduct hackathons to drive innovation. More than 50% of the hackathons are recurring events, indicating a reliable tool for sustained innovation. Perhaps this is the most crucial benefit. The hackathon makes it possible to use different talents to think of initiatives that attack a common problem.

Through these accelerating ideas, insights emerge that become projects and can positively impact the company and its products. For instance, in general, blockchain companies and other firms tend to gain a lot of problem-solving expertise from such hackathons, which also have the added benefit of being financially economical.

Be a top-of-mind market solution
The more people who know about your company, the better - especially if you opt for promotion by digital means. Blockchain markets are very competitive. So, the key to getting the best of your hackathon and company out to a broader audience is to spread the word. Partner with universities, sponsored social media campaigns, traditional media ads, and whatever else it takes to capture the most registrants and audience.

So, how can hackathons help Blockchain at this point? PR and Marketing are a halfway solution to strengthen your company's presence in the industry and connect your name to innovation within days.

Your next recruitment tool
This exchange of experiences will expand the networking of participants and, in the case of an external hackathon, grow the network of contacts of the organization itself.

Some companies use hackathons as recruitment and promotion tools. Hackathons give recruiters access to innovative ideas, as well skill sets, that might not have been considered otherwise.

They also provide great exposure for jobseekers by generating buzz around your hiring offers. Companies will often sponsor or host these events as part of their recruiting strategy.

As all tech players know, talent in this area it's constantly changing. Better participants, better solutions for your blockchain solutions.

Diminish your errors, give your company security
It is worth remembering that Blockchain was developed from the need to create a reliable and efficient system to record financial transactions, avoiding fraud, cyber-attacks, or even user errors. This is why financial services present several application cases for Blockchain. So, a hackathon can be an excellent playground to find security vulnerabilities for your project.

In 2016, in Ukraine, there was a hackathon focus on cyber-security. In less than 48 hours, 16 teams of IT specialists, business analysts, and Blockchain/Bitcoin enthusiasts brainstormed and designed viable business ideas based on the Blockchain-distributed technology.

In this case, an open-source solution was developed, available to anyone. The objective was to encode user data with OpenSSL to be accessed with a personal security key. This way, the Ethereum Blockchain app platform would provide routing between client and server and perform an escrow function, ensuring transparency of the deal.

Blockchain hackathons could mean new products!
Many startups and businesses that host hackathons want to test newer aspects of their company or product with external developers before implementing them internally. Because of the natural diversity and teamwork that such hackathons bring forward, they show to be the ideal environment for such idea testing and creation.

For example, Hasbro toys famously created 45 products throughout just one hackathon. Likewise, names like GroupMe and WorkFlow have emerged from hackathons, and in GroupMe's case, led to an $85 million acquisition from Microsoft.

In the blockchain world, companies like Digital Asset and SE2 prepared a hackathon focused on Daml, a multi-party application platform created by Digital Asset, to develop innovative Blockchain and smart contract applications.

Adoption of technologies
Digital transformation requires changes in company culture. And these changes involve investments that may initially impact the budget. By holding a hackathon, the organization will be updated on technological trends and become solutions to reduce costs and time in processes.

Today, speed and agility on the blockchain niche are central to driving business value, making hackathons a valuable tool for accelerating organizational change and fostering a quick-march, customer-centric, can-do culture.

Sense of Community
Many innovative businesses managers learn how hackathons can help blockchain companies because they recognize the value of developing a self-sustaining, positive ecology around them.

Hackathons, as a clever marketing technique, can also aid in expanding a company's external network, particularly among engineers, who are often participating in feedback and content development.

Furthermore, DailyCoin defends that community participation makes learning the core value of the Blockchain easier to understand. Those who choose to engage in and participate in hackathons are typically intelligent and capable individuals who would keep in touch with the company's external relations staff for future events if the event was memorable.

Blockchain hackathons need to be planned to work

A hackathon is an event that needs to be prepared and managed. It's not just the cost of location, food, staff, and equipment. You also need to provide a creative atmosphere and a proper methodology to ensure the teams' high productivity.

Moreover, the solutions from a hackathon are not always entirely usable, but if worked on better in a post-event, they can become applicable. Suppose the topic is not attractive enough to participants. In that case, expectations for the solutions are too high, or the prize pool is not good enough to attract good participants, a hackathon can become more attractive just for the change of culture of the institution.

Last but not least, to summarize, if you have a blockchain company you want to:

Cost reduction due to less supervision and reduction of intermediaries;
Time savings. Fast sprints to prototype solutions created in days against traditional R&D process that can take weeks;
Built proof-of-concept blockchain pilots for your business;
Increased security by preventing fraud, manipulation, and cyber-attacks;
Increased efficiency, embracing digital transformation, over traditional systems

Now that you learn how hackathons can help blockchain companies, it's time to take the next step to engage with our community.

TAIKAI is a virtual hackathon platform that makes a virtual hackathon event much easier to host. You can count on us to take your company to the next level.

How to Prepare for Coding Challenges?

Rodrigo Nogueira — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 13:08:18 +0000

Many people are passionate about coding. 👩‍💻 Every year, millions of students study Computer Science as their major. And many others enroll in different courses related to it. The biggest part of this field is Programming.

If you have recently graduated and are looking for a programming job, then you should study to pass coding challenges.

Coding challenges are an excellent way of testing your skills and capabilities. They can be used as part of a job interview, or even just as fun exercises to help improve your programming ability.

👉 In this article, we will look into how to prepare for them and what they actually involve. We’ll also take a look at some tips and tricks on how to get better at them! 🙌

Everything You Need to Know About Coding Challenges 👇

What are Coding Challenges?

A code challenge is a test conducted by companies to recruit new employees. It is the first step to pass before conducting technical interviews.

These challenges or tests are for new internees and graduates. Usually, people with prior experience in programming do not have to take part. However, they are sometimes taken after the interview. These tests take place among many people in a limited timeframe to shortlist qualified and suitable candidates.

Generally, the organization you are applying for gives you the choice of language. But, other times, they might go with some specific programming languages.

Why Do I need to Engage in Programming Challenges?

Even if you are not applying for a job, there are many programming contests as well. Taking part in them will provide a lot of benefits.

Many students and beginners do not understand the potential of Programming Challenges. Here are all the reasons to tell you why you should engage in such challenges:

Develop Problem-Solving Skills

Many tech interviews ask you to debug an already-written program. While it may seem easy to some, it can be very difficult for newbies. That is because they are used to getting the help of different tools for search bugs in their programs.
Engaging in Coding Challenges will help you become a real problem solver. You will be able to point out the mistakes in lines of code easily. Plus, it will empower your technical skills to write error-free codes.

Faster Than Ever

The main constraint of a coding interview or test is the time limit. In a given period, you will have to write a completely error-free program. For a beginner, it is nearly impossible.
When you newly learn to program, you are very slow at it. You take hours to write simple codes and check them again and again for mistakes. While this is a good aspect in terms of care, it is unacceptable in coding tests.
Engaging in different coding contests helps you get faster at it. You will notice a significant change in speed in your coding skill and projects.

Write Better Codes

In programming, there are always multiple ways to write a single code. But, only a few of them are optimal solutions. And, this is an important factor in coding. You always have to check the efficiency of a program.
For instance, a code can be written on ten lines, and the same can be written on two lines. It would be best if you always went for the shorter route. It helps you get the job done faster and cleaner.

A Plus Point for Interviews - Interview Preparation Tips

Although passing the test does not necessarily mean you are recruited, it is certainly a positive point. Software Developer candidates who have passed the challenge are one step closer to getting the job.
Tech Companies usually look for practical workers. A code challenge helps organizations to identify which program can excel at writing codes. Hence, it will give you a considerable upper hand over other candidates.

Get a Better Grip on a Language

Programming challenges will help you strengthen your skills in a specific language. If you are a new programmer, you should concentrate on only one language. You can find the right one by researching which one is currently in demand.

Most Common Programming Language Challenges

Like we mentioned earlier, usually, companies allow you to choose a programming language. However, not all of them give you this option. Some companies work with certain languages, so you are only restricted to pass tests in them.

Here are some of the most common programming language challenges:

Python
Java
Javascript
Rust
TypeScript
Ruby
PHP
SQL
CSS
C#
C++
HTML

The reason for providing this list is so that you can learn and practice one of these languages. With a strong grip, you will definitely get ready for technical interview questions. 💪

How to Get Better at a Coding Challenge

Many beginners and students look for tips to pass a code challenge. But, you do not have to worry. We have covered all the ways of how you can get better at programming challenges and interview prep.

Master a Language

The best way is to just work on a single language first, for example, Python. Do not jump into different languages at this stage. Learn all that you can about it Python. Write different and difficult codes in it.
You should be so good that you can debug a code without any problems. That is only possible by deep-dive your technical skill in a specific programming language for you to be ready for a python challenge in the future. These common practices will help you advance fast in a challenge and give you an advantage during the interview process.

Efficiency

Your first priority should be efficiency. Always look for a better way of writing codes. Companies prefer clean and readable programs.
Most people look for the easiest way to execute a program. However, sometimes that solution contains a long code. If you want to get good at coding challenges, you need to look for an efficient way rather than an easy one.

Constantly Check Your Code

While it may take some time, checking code again and again can make it ten times better. You can even find your mistakes. It can also help you make the right changes to your code.
Sometimes, you will see some statements that do not affect the overall program but increase the time complexity. Rechecking your code will allow you to remove such statements.

Practice

As the saying goes, “Practice makes a programmer perfect.” It is 100% true that practicing your skilled language can help you get better exponentially.
Whether you are looking to pass coding challenges or working professionally, practice is a MUST.
It will enable you to write error-free programs in less time. Plus, you will no longer need to look up solutions on the Internet. Once you start exercising your programming skills enough, you can become the ultimate problem solver.

Mistakes to Avoid During a Code Challenge

Here are some of the most common mistakes that you should avoid during a coding test.

Do Not Rush It

While there is a time limit, it is long enough for you to write the full code. If you try to rush things too fast, you will be compromising on the quality of your program.

Avoid Repetition

Many codes will require you to follow the same formula. However, it would be best if you never repeated any segment. If you have to, then try to write it differently.

Choose Correct Variable Names

Although it may seem like a small thing, companies pay a lot of attention to it. The choice of variable names depends on you. That is why most new programmers go for simple names, like A, B, C, etc. Instead, go for more specific and clearer names, like FirstValue, SecondValue, etc. It will increase the readability of the code, and users will understand the purpose of the variable on the first viewing.

Do not Go to The Long Route

A long code means less readability, more time complexity, and less efficiency. But, most programmers do not understand that. If there is an optimal solution available, take it and go for shorter and neat codes.

Not Pre-Planning for the Project

If you have an upcoming test, then give your best to prepare for it. Practice with difficult codes and try to debug them. There are many software tools online that can you with this.

How to Plan For a Hiring Coding Challenge

Every task requires pre-planning. If you were to build architecture, you would first construct a blueprint. Programming is not much different.

Planning for a coding challenge includes identifying the problems and ways how to solve them in the code editor. First, you have to set a goal for your solution and discover how you can accomplish it. Then, you will work towards it. It is best to go in prepared for the challenge.

Best Platforms to Test Your Coding Skill 📚
Here are some of the best platforms where you can try your coding skills and get one step closer to being employed.

CoderPad CoderPad is one of the most well-reviewed platforms where companies provide challenges for coders.
CoderByte CoderByte is the most popular website with more than 600 organizations. These companies share MCQs and other programming challenges for potential employees.
HackerRank HackerRank is most suitable for advanced-level programmers. Here, companies can select the ready-made challenges or create their own to test people.
CodeFights CodeFights is a one-stop-shop that allows companies to find, test, and interview candidates.

Final Thoughts

Whether it is a coding interview or online coding challenges, practice is the key.

By going through this article, you will understand everything about such tests, including why you need to take part in them, how to get better, which mistakes to avoid, and how to pre-plan.

Each aspect will give you a different perspective, and every new coding challenge will teach you a new lesson.

At TAIKAI we take the Coding Challenges to a different level 😲, with hiring challenges any organization can manage their coding challenges and follow the candidate progress using a single platform.

If we are looking for a platform to evaluate your candidates coding challenges, we are your right partner for you.

Not Convinced 🤨, talk with us today or Request a Demo.

How to recruit talent using a hackathon

Rodrigo Nogueira — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 18:29:33 +0000

Hackathons are a highly beneficial tool to scout out talent and promote breakthroughs in an organization. Read ahead to find out how to recruit talent with a hackathon and its benefits over traditional recruitment processes.

Attracting Talent with Hackathons

The following is an overview of how hackathons aid organizations in their efforts to innovate and recruit talent.

Hackathons differ significantly from traditional recruiting methods. While both involve searching for qualified employees, the latter relies solely on resumes and interviews. Hackathons provide additional opportunities for employers and job hunters alike.

In addition to allowing applicants to showcase their abilities and expertise, hackathons also allow businesses to learn more about their customers and clients. For example, Google held its annual Android Developer Challenge where developers were able to create mobile apps for their ecosystem.

However, many companies hold hackathons specifically designed to identify hidden gems among otherwise unappealing candidates. These events give anyone without experience a chance to prove themselves. Since they focus primarily on uncovering undervalued qualities such as creativity, communication ability, leadership, and problem-solving skills, they effectively remove biases associated with conventional hiring practices.

Forces people to leave their comfort zone🛋

This is one of the primary ways hackathons help to unleash creativity. Hackathons offer a refreshing break from the monotony of the daily job.

Offline Hackathons are typically 1–2-day events in which participants must solve a given problem within a limited amount of time. These events force players to leave their comfort zone and put them under extreme time constraints.

The intense environment creates a sense of urgency, motivating individuals to offer their best effort or risk losing. It drives individuals to take risks and test new ideas to succeed in such situations. This sense of urgency does not exist in a typical 9-5 shift.

Participants who are driven to expand their creative muscles in such a manner experience a free flow of original ideas, not only from group mates but also from themselves. Due to this, hackathons generate novel solutions to problems they are designed to solve.

Allows for a wide range of social inputs 🤙

As previously stated, hackathons include both external and internal team members. These extra members can be from anywhere, creating a socially varied environment for the event. This level of multiplicity promotes the generation of novel ideas and thoughts.

The incorporation of multiple points of view is a reason for this. As a result, the problem is understood in a variety of ways.

A freelancer who works on a flexible schedule, for example, may see a problem from a different perspective than a corporate suit who adheres to a traditional 9-5 schedule.

Differences in a team’s culture, lifestyle, and attitude add dimensions to the cognitive process. Innovative solutions to problems are more common when information from other perspectives is gathered. Hackathons enable experimentation with various inputs driven from multiple viewpoints working collaboratively to achieve a breakthrough solution.

New groundbreaking products 📦

One of the most important ways for businesses to gain from hackathons is by developing new groundbreaking products.

Hackathons promote the free flow of revolutionary ideas in a diverse collaborative environment. These innovative concepts lead to the creation of new applications based on evolving technologies or new goods based on novel methodologies.

A hackathon’s limited time frame is insufficient to completely develop a new product; however, the intensive creative environment might result in the development of game-changing prototypes.

These prototypes form the basis for a revolutionary product. Once an idea has been formed, the product can simply progress to the development stage. Hackathons initiate the development process by making prototypes in a short period based on nonstop brainstorming.

Aside from that, the exploration and learning that takes place throughout the process is an excellent takeaway for both the host firm and the participants.

Allows the evaluation of talent, ability, and temperament in real-time 🗳

Another reason why large corporations organize hackathons is to attract talent. From Foursquare to Chevrolet, Facebook to PayPal, the world’s largest corporations all see hackathons as a possible recruiting tool.

Hackathons provide an opportunity for host organizations to witness a live exhibition of participants’ abilities and skills. Resumes are limited to a candidate’s credentials and provide no evidence of the applicant’s actual ability.

Hackathons provide a unique chance in the hiring process, allowing potential candidates to demonstrate their capacity to favorably contribute to innovative development projects.

Hackathons allow host organizations to assess not only a candidate's talents but also their disposition. Such activities necessitate teamwork, allowing the host company to assess a candidate's capacity to perform inside an organization. A hackathon’s rigorous setting provides the host organization with insight into potential applicants’ persistence and ability to work under pressure.

While technical proficiency is an important factor in the hiring process, other qualities such as stress tolerance, a collaborative attitude, and a calm demeanor are also important.

Attractive prize packages 🏆

Hackathons are competitions, and the winners are abundantly rewarded with incredible gifts. The prize package draw assists the host organization in attracting top talent and generating unique ideas.

Hackathons have tight grading procedures in which only the most groundbreaking ideas are rewarded. To win the hackathon, participants are greatly incentivized to develop innovative solutions. As a result, the host company gains an advantage from the prototypes that are created, which possess the potential to bring development to the market.

Prizes for hackathons can range from substantial sums of money to summer internships with the sponsoring company to prestigious honors. These events recognize the accomplishments of participants, which encourages freelancers and talented professionals to participate. As a result, the host firm can identify potential applicants and integrate top talent into its business.

Increased corporate branding 💎

Hackathons provide a marketing prospect for the host corporation. This is especially critical for companies seeking to hire talented employees.

Due to the status associated with working with well-known businesses, job applicants prefer to work for them, posing a significant hurdle for startups. It is tough for a company, no matter how active, to attract devoted personnel.

Hackathons generate a lot of discussion about the host firm and assist in positioning it as a dynamic market participant. If a company can conduct a hackathon assessed by industry executives and technical consultants, the company can get market traction.

As hackathons are becoming more popular, getting sponsors to provide financial support for branding efforts and events is becoming easier. Requesting local press coverage of the event can also aid in attracting talent, and social media can be used to reach a larger audience.

There is no doubt that hackathons help businesses of all sizes flourish. Whether it is via developing an industry brand, creating inventive intellectual property to use in the future, or using it as a talent magnet for recruiting.

Hackathons are extreme events that necessitate extensive planning. Before submitting a bid to host one, all the minor elements must be considered. To achieve a successful hackathon, meticulous planning is essential in advance.

In recent years, there has been a boom in Hackathons to recruit talent and the channel has constantly been evolving ever since. Listed below are some of the various techniques used to leverage hackathons as a recruitment tool.

Types of recruitment hackathons

1. VIRTUAL HACKATHONS
Recruitment hackathons can be tailored to a company’s requirements and the talent that it wishes to recruit. Virtual hackathons are no different and can be considered as of the best methods to hunt international talent. These hackathons are conceptualized around competitive programming challenges and allow recruiters to get an idea of what programmers around the world are capable of based on the competition leaderboard.

These challenge-based recruiting tactics are highly useful for small companies who lack the resources or budget to market themselves overseas or establish recruitment centers in foreign countries. Companies could benefit from an additional talent pipeline in the funnel, and hackathons have evolved into a lean technique for partially leveling the playing field for smaller organizations trying to implement guerilla recruiting strategies.

2. INTERACTIVE HACKATHONS
Due to the intimidation element of a 1:1 interview and the associated uneasiness, highly qualified individuals are frequently dismissed in a traditional interview session.

Throughout a day or more, hackathons provide an opportunity to dive in, become comfortable, and demonstrate ingenuity. From the interviewer's standpoint, hackathons help assess a candidate’s talents and performance in a potential working environment.

Interactive hackathons can assist by grouping interviewers and potentials applicants into teams where they can collaborate constructively and creatively. The interactive hackathon’s capacity to link industry professionals and students or other candidates of all types and technological skillsets seems quite promising!

3. INDUSTRY HACKATHONS
Industry hackathons are gradually gaining traction as a means of combining resources and adding emphasis and purpose to the traditional concept of hackathons as Red Bull-fueled frenzies for major tech companies.

Industry hackathons link recruiters with technical talent that understand their business and possess the potential to bring much-needed creativity into their already set-up products, processes, and technology. Despite having been initiated by tech companies, the traction of industry hackathons is growing in areas like education, construction, and fashion.

4. INTERNAL RECRUITING HACKATHONS
The opportunity to “recruit” your own staff is another benefit of hackathons as a recruitment strategy. For companies wishing to organize a hackathon, it is recommended to encourage their full-time employees and technical talent to join if they feel inclined.

Internal hackathons, by definition, enable businesses to access previously untapped potential within their organization as employees are placed into silos or boxes. Encouraging your engineering talent to engage in hackathons allows them to design and create things outside the box while broadening their relations with coworkers with whom they may not ordinarily collaborate. It unquestionably promotes healthy free-thinking, which adds to motivated employees.

Benefits of using hackathon to recruit talent

Traditionally, many companies held hackathons internally to get their creative juices flowing and help their committed employees brainstorm and generate ideas.

Nowadays, hackathons are increasingly being adopted in the modern hiring process, and for a good reason. Today, most recruiters utilize this method to evaluate candidates' problem-solving, interpersonal, and time-management skills. There are many benefits to using hackathons over the traditional hiring processes, which can be explained below.

REDUCE COSTS 💰
One of the main benefits of using hackathons to recruit talent over the traditional process is that it helps reduce costs by a lot. As per the latest Talent Acquisition Benchmarking Report, the average cost of hire is $4,425. On the other hand, the average cost of hackathons for a hire can be much lower with the advantage of hiring multiple candidates.

This cost reduction has inclined many companies to shift over to using hackathons for the recruitment process. When it comes to traditional hiring, it might be difficult to justify the overall cost of the process. Hackathons, on the other hand, are low-cost and can be made to be cost even lower by holding them online

SAVING TIME ⏰
Using hackathons in recruitment allows companies to cut their recruitment time by 80%. Recruits hired through hackathons get a chance to get acquainted with the company dynamic and culture and the necessary training. This can cut down the time required for training from 3-6 months to less than 6 weeks.

Additionally, most of the recruitment processes followed by many companies are so long and unstructured that it wastes the time of both recruiters and applicants. Hackathons as a recruitment process prove superior due to the ability to gather and analyze candidate data in a very short time frame.

SCREENING 📃
Hackathons are a promising alternative to unorganized recruitment processes. These processes are not only time-consuming but also don't always result in quality hires.

You might be surprised to know that only 50% of the hires you make fit the bill through the traditional hiring process. Also, it takes almost three months to know if you have made the right hire or not, which results in a drain in resources. Screening during hackathons is much easier than in traditional recruitment processes. During hackathons, you get to take a look at how well a candidate works with other people and effectively gauge their core technical skills, cognitive abilities, and behavioral competencies.

DIVERSITY 🧑‍🦰👩🏾‍🦰🧔🏼‍♀️
Hosting online hackathons allow recruiters to attract a diverse range of quality talent. Companies have found that hosting online hackathons has attracted candidates hailing from areas that they wouldn’t usually go for recruitment. Diversity in the hiring process opens up access to people who might be more talented and valuable to your organization than people from your usual target recruitment areas.

Why hackathon are good for hiring? 🤔

40% of people who participated in a hackathon were hired within 6 months after participating in the event.

Recruiters say they use hackathons because they want to get creative solutions from their employees. Hackathons help them identify and develop potential employees before making an offer.

Hackathons give them access to innovative ideas that might not have been considered otherwise. They also provide great exposure for job seekers by generating buzz around your hiring process. Companies will often sponsor or host these events as part of their recruiting strategy.

It’s not uncommon for companies to throw one-day competitions where participants create apps, websites, games, videos, etc., all designed to solve problems related to their business needs.

The winning team gets paid cash prizes while everyone else walks away with some sort of recognition. These kinds of events tend to be very popular among tech-savvy Millennials. Companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Oracle, eBay, IBM, Apple, Adobe, Groupon, Zappos, LinkedIn, Twitter, Netflix, Airbnb, Dell, Intuit, Salesforce, and many others regularly hold hackathons throughout the year at various locations across the country.

The final verdict 🥁

In conclusion, hackathons are a very useful tool in recruiting good talent. 👷‍♂️

There are several types of hackathons from which to recruit promising talent, however, a virtual hackathon is the most favorable one as it allows a diverse range of participants to showcase their abilities. Using hackathons as a recruitment method provides various benefits over a traditional hiring process such as reducing costs, saving time, and having the screening process be much more transparent. As such more companies should adopt this recruitment method.

Do you want to host or organize a hiring challenge for your company?

Talk with us today, we are here to help you with the process.