Hackathon

Synonyms and Related Terms

(Unconference), Hack Day, Hack Week, Codeathon, Hack Fest, Code Fest, (Something) Sprint, Data Fest, Datathon, Makeathon, Innovation Lab, Dev camps, Startup Weekend, Garage, Hack Hour, Open Innovation Competition, Datapalooza, Hackapalooza, Innovation Summit

Definition

Authoritative definition in a soon-to-be-published article. Will add a link when it is available.

We define hackathons as time-bounded participant-driven events that are organized to foster specific goals or objectives. The scaffolding of each event is planned by a team of organizers to support its goals or objectives. People that participate in an event often (but not necessarily) have different backgrounds and bring different expertise. Their primary motivation to join an event is to work on a shared team project that interests them, although there might be additional incentives such as prizes and networking opportunities. During the event, teams attempt to create an artifact (e.g. software or hardware prototypes, slides, video, document) that can be shared with other participants. It is also acceptable, and sometimes even desirable, if they do not manage to create anything.