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Hackathons/Wikimania 2016 Lessons Learned

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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

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  • 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

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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

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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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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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