Hackathons as a key intrapreneurial activity and route to innovation – InnerVentures
In my time at Yammer first then Microsoft, I worked with customers to devise a program for running innovation hackathons. It considers more than just the 24 hour period typical for hackathons. The “pre” and “post” of hackathons is as important. Activity should start long before the 24 hour period and carry on long after.
It also incorporates a social platform like Yammer for supporting activities but you could adopt any. I’ve helped customers with global hackathons covering geographically dispersed teams. With something like Yammer you don’t all need to be together in one place at a set time for the pre and post work and ideas and innovation are given the time they need.
At Microsoft we went further than just the 24 hours. We dedicated an entire week to hacking and had a custom built platform that supported the ideation and team forming side far ahead of the week. Yammer groups were used in conjunction to the formal idea management side of things.
The full monty hackathon
I captured the approach of using something like Yammer in this diagram below for a full blown, longer term program. It also covers important elements like communication and involvement from others in the organisation. I’ve provided some additional detail following the diagram.
Based on work done with a large UK based retail customer – see also diagram for basic description.
Core concepts
Phase 1 – Ideation
Phase 2 – Forming
Phase 3 – Developing
Example criteria for an idea qualification template
I’ve tried to capture this whole approach a little more richly with this video 🙂
Instant hackathon – a no frills approach
This is the format you can follow to run a hackathon in a two to three hour period without any prior preparation and effort by participants. I’ve used this approach with team members on a one or two day retreat.
Format
Guidance
Variations