Hackathons/Wikimania 2016 Lessons Learned
These are lessons learned and feedback statistics from the 2016 Wikimania Hackathon which was part of the pre-conference days in Esino Lario.
This page is a combination of feedback from a survey sent to participants and ideas from the organizers.
Background on Feedback Survey
[edit]- This feedback about the Wikimania Hackathon 2016 was a section in the main Wikimania feedback survey which was shown only to respondents who indicated that they had attended the hackathon.
- rfarrand, Ginevra Sanvitale & Edward Galvez created the hackathon questions in the feedback survey
- The survey was first sent out on June 30, 2016
- 113 out of 496 people who responded to the Wikimania Feedback Survey indicated that they attended the hackathon.
Qualitative Feedback
[edit]This feedback is based on fill in the blank comments, grouped into similar themes, interoperated by rfarrand and listed in order of most-commented
The best
[edit]Opps, this question was not asked in the Wikimania feedback survey. However multiple people mentioned the hackathon on their top three overall sessions at Wikimania and there .
The worst
[edit]- Hacking space and 24 hour hacking room were to crowded and loud. Hard to find places to sit, hard to concentrate.
- Lunch should be closer to the hacking space, having it far away was disruptive
- Keep coffee in the 24hr room throughout the event
Suggested changes for next time
[edit]- Less cramped and crowded space
- Hackathon should be less distributed throughout the city
- Water, coffee and food available after 6pm each day
- More "tech-talk" style sessions
- Taller / better / more comfortable tables
- Have volunteers sign up for testing
- More welcoming for non-technical contributors
- Note taking during the opening
Ideas for better community wishlist support
[edit]- A physical board with ideas and owners
- Wishlist projects should have mentors assigned beforehand
- Clear understanding of who is working on what already
- Direction on where to start contributing on each topic, some of the wishlist items are huge
- A community wish list session or keynote run by the community tech team
Quantitate Feedback
[edit]These are the feedback survey statistics
Including this Hackathon, how many hackathons have you attended
Answer % Count
1 20.43% 19
2 20.43% 19
3 16.13% 15
4 11.83% 11
5 7.53% 7
6 or more 23.66% 22
Total 100% 93
How would you describe your experience as a developer? (Choose the option that best describes your experience level)
Answer % Count
No experience 12.77% 12
Novice 8.51% 8
Beginner 12.77% 12
Intermediate 22.34% 21
Advanced 28.72% 27
1Expert 14.89% 14
Total 100% 94
Were you able to meet any new contributors interested in similar topics as you?
Answer % Count
No 9.78% 9
Yes, a few 75.00% 69
Yes, many 15.22% 14
Total 100% 92
How satisfied were you with the selection of sessions offered during the hackathon?
Answer % Count
Not at all 1.18% 1
Slightly 8.24% 7
3 Moderately 25.88% 22
Mostly 50.59% 43
Completely 14.12% 12
Total 100% 85
What different tasks did you accomplish during your hackathon time? (Select all that apply)
Answer % Count
Wrote code for a new tool or project 9.16% 25
Added features to an existing tool 10.99% 30
Fixed bugs 15.38% 42
Packaged software 1.10% 3
Made updates to deployment tooling 0.73% 2
Deployed updates to live sites (operations) 2.56% 7
Added citations 0.73% 2
Created templates 2.20% 6
Answered research questions 4.76% 13
Pulled research data 4.03% 11
Ran statistical analyses 4.40% 12
Completed a demoable project 4.03% 11
Presented in the Hackathon Showcase 5.86% 16
Ran a session in a breakout room 3.66% 10
Discussed future work (RFC, specifications, etc.) 17.22% 47
Worked on or contributed to a project from the Community Wishlist 6.23% 17
Other: 6.96% 19
Total 100% 273
 How would you describe your overall experience at the Hackathon?
Answer % Count
Very Negative 0.00% 0
Negative 4.49% 4
Neither Negative nor Positive 14.61% 13
Positive 51.69% 46
Very Positive 29.21% 26
Total 100% 89
To what extent do you feel the Hackathon was worth your time spent?
Answer % Count
Very much 44.32% 39
Mostly 39.77% 35
Somewhat 6.82% 6
Slightly 7.95% 7
Not at all 1.14% 1
Total 100% 88
How satisfied were you with the following aspects of the Hackathon?
# Question Not at all - Somewhat - Moderately - Mostly - Completely
Venue: 11.11% 2 - 23.08% 9 - 21.15% 11 26.45% 41 19.12% 26
Snacks: 16.67% 3 - 25.64% 10 - 23.08% 12 - 18.06% 28 - 23.53% 32
WiFi: 44.44% 8 - 28.21% 11 - 25.00% 13 - 21.29% 33 - 17.65% 24
Help Desk: 11.11% 2 - 12.82% 5 - 7.69% 4 1- 0.97% 17 - 19.12% 26
Hacking space: 16.67% 3 - 10.26% 4 - 23.08% 12 - 23.23% 36 - 20.59% 28
Total 18 - Total 39 - Total 52 - Total 155 - Total 136
Would you want to attend the Hackathon if it was not connected with Wikimania?
Answer % Count
Yes, no matter where it is held 41.57% 37
Yes, if it were close to my home 32.58% 29
No 11.24% 10
Unsure 14.61% 13
Total 100% 89