Participating and volunteering in hackathons
A hackathon can have many different meanings, depending on who you ask and in what context. One common theme in the definition is that it involves a team (quite possibly an ad hoc team convened specifically for the hackathon) putting a strong focus on solving a particular problem in a short period. Many companies that value innovation will set aside time regularly where employees are encouraged to shift focus from their day-to-day duties and participate in a hackathon. The companies anticipate that some of the innovations coming out of the exercise will become improvements to the company’s products or services.
During a hackathon, you will typically be exposed to an entire iteration of the software life cycle in as few as a couple of days. This can include establishing what value you’re going to deliver, assigning roles that team members will play based on what they are already good at or (better yet) where they would like...
