A Dive into the World of Hack Days

A hack day event is a dedicated time where participants step away from their usual tasks to collaborate on new projects or ideas. They are a hotbed for innovation as they foster creativity, encourage exploration of new technologies, and promote cross-team collaboration. Organizing one involves planning, logistics, and fostering an environment that encourages participation and creativity.

Reasons to Host hack days

Hack days offer a myriad of benefits, varying based on company culture, team dynamics, and the technologies in use.

• Breaks the monotony of daily work life.
• Allows participants to explore new technologies and learn new skills.
• Improves team dynamics as participants collaborate on projects outside their usual work.

Checkout Five Compelling Reasons to Invest Company Resources in Hack Days for a more in-depth look at the benefits of hack days.

Cadence and duration

Hack days can be organized as a one-off event or as a recurring event, and can last anywhere from a single day to an entire week.

Some companies have two distinct types of hack days. The first could be a two-day event, exclusive to eg your domain, where you'd have the liberty to explore any project that piqued your interest. The second could be a company-wide hack week, typically centered around a theme, with the added thrill of prizes for the most innovative hacks. These events doesn't have to be just about coding, but about fostering a culture of innovation and creativity.

Who is it for?

Hack days are open to everyone, regardless of their role or experience level. This allows for a diverse range of ideas and perspectives, and encourages collaboration between teams.

A prerequisite for hack days to be effective is that participants not only have the freedom to choose their projects, but also that they should be able to hack without disruption from their regular duties. True innovation requires time and space to explore new ideas, and this is something that should be encouraged and supported.

Organizing a hack days event

Preparing the event

It's a good idea to plan ahead and prepare for the event. This could include a number of things, for example:

• Setting up a dedicated Slack channel for the event to facilitate communication.
• Deciding on a start and end date for the event.
• Is there a particular theme or focus for the event?
• Are there prizes or rewards for the most upvoted hack?

Make sure to communicate the details of the event to everyone that's participating, and make sure to clear up time in everyone's calendar so that they can participate.

Setting the stage

In the days and weeks leading up to the event, encourage everyone to share their ideas and projects, aka "hacks", on Hack Days. This will allow everyone to get a sense of what others are working on, and will help foster collaboration.

Demos

At the end of the event, it's a good idea to have everyone present their hacks to the rest of the team. This is a great way to share knowledge and inspire others.

The point is not to judge or critique the hacks, but rather to celebrate the creativity and innovation that the event has encouraged. This is also a great opportunity to recognize the efforts of the participants, and to award prizes for the most upvoted hack.

Using Hack Days you can easily create create a hack demo an event. The demo will be part of an automatically compiled demo deck that the host can use to present the event's hacks.

Erik Engervall

Founder