Your first hackathon: is it worth going, and what you get

What it is

A hackathon is a contest where teams build a working prototype on a set theme in a short window — usually a day to a few days. It ends with demos and feedback.

The key word is "team". A hackathon is almost never about who writes the best code. It's about how several people negotiate under time pressure and get something to a demo.

Why go if you can't build much

Three reasons, none of them winning.

Teamwork under pressure. That's exactly what employers value hackathons for. In a day you live through a miniature version of a real project: unclear requirements, an argument about approach, not enough time, and the need to throw away half the plan.

Learning how fast you actually work. Beginners' estimates are typically off by a factor of three. A hackathon cures that in one sitting.

People. Spending a day on a problem with someone builds a different kind of relationship. Some teams keep working together afterwards.

What not to expect

• That you'll write beautiful code. You won't, and that's fine — it's a different exercise.
• That you'll understand everything. The first time, half of it will be a blur.
• That you'll win. Going to a first hackathon for the win is a reliable way to be disappointed.

If you're the weakest in the team

Common, and not a disaster. Take what you understand and do it reliably. There's usually a need for hands on tractable things: markup, copy, the demo, gathering data, checking that everything still works.

The worst move is taking the hard part out of pride and failing it by morning. The best is saying honestly what you can carry, then carrying it.

How to prepare

Sort out your tools beforehand: set up the environment, remember how to deploy. Losing the first three hours to installation is a common and painful waste.

And agree things in the team at the start: what we're building, what counts as done, who owns what. An hour spent on that up front saves six in the middle of the night.

After the hackathon

Don't abandon the result. Even a rough prototype can be brought to a presentable state over a couple of evenings. Then you have more than "took part in a hackathon" — you have a working thing and the story of how three of you built it in a day.