Hackathon - we coded for 24 hours
The code was spinning in June when one of our development teams set out for a marathon 24-hour code called the Hackathon. This project was significantly different from TOPdesk‘s software; a predictive revenue/cost management software was developed. During the constant work, our developers learned a lot of new things and during the night we also consumed some pizzas and beers of course.
How the Hackathon went down?
The project started with a lunch on Thursday and at 1 p.m. our enterprising team started the marathon. First, a project meeting was held where everyone’s daily tasks were assigned and the project manager was elected. The choice fell on the mastermind, Attila, who had a long-standing desire to realize this idea.
All afternoon our developers coded feverishly and then everyone ordered dinner at the company’s expense, also reduced the content of our wine fridge. Work went on continuously throughout the night, some replenished their energies with a couple of hours of sleep so that in the morning they could throw themselves back into development with fresh impetus. The 24-hour project lasted until Friday noon, when the team was waiting for colleagues with a demo of the product they developed.
Hackathon lessons learned
This project shows how much progress can be made together with a little focus. The team used technologies they had never worked with before. They chose Node.js/Express as the backend and MongoDB/Mongoose for data storage. The interface was created using React, but no React Native was used. These are all popular and widely used technologies, well documented (there are many examples of them and easy to learn), specifically suitable for similar tasks.
24 hours is a long time, so the team felt the reserves were finite already on Friday morning beyond the 18-20 hours. So next time we might want to consider whether it would be worth splitting the 24 hours into two 12 hours or some other solution.
P.S. If you’re thinking about a Hackathon, one piece of advice: don’t leave your toothbrush at home!
"It was amazing to see how the team could focus and deliver real, impressive results in just 24 hours."
Viktor, Scrum Master
What our developers said about the Hackathon:
“During the Hackathon, learning new technology, time pressure and interdependence created a special atmosphere that is not typical of everyday life at all. It was good to experience where our boundaries are, even if we got tired by the end and it took a few days for everything to return to normal. It’s worth not mixing learning something new with delivering as many features efficiently as possible, the two are rarely successful at the same time.” – Dani, developer
“We had a lot of fun during Hachathon, we implemented one of my hobby projects. We learned a lot in 24 hours, which is especially interesting because we used Node JS, which was a new technology for me. I have worked a lot with javascript, but with this innovation the project was a challenge. I was pleased to see that after learning a few small points, it becomes very easy to use, a good little tool for backend development of simple projects. The joint project strengthened cooperation within the team as well, it was a real team building. I’m also happy with the result, because the software is basically finished – 1-2 touches are still needed – but we have created a working version.”– Attila, developer
Final results of the Hackathon
The final result of the Hackathon speaks for itself; With teamwork and cheerfulness, our development team created a usable revenue cost management software in 24 hours, using new technologies, that can predict the future liquidity of a given person.
