We all know that collaboration is the name of the game in the 21st century. We are working in teams, we are cross-disciplinary, we are more and more transparent. But what does that mean for software development?
It means a shift to codeathon culture.
What is a codeathon? A codeathon is a combination of writing code and marathons. You spend the weekend hacking away at an idea or two and then hold a presentation on Sunday afternoon to show off what you have made. Since it is such a great way to learn new things, get new ideas and meet like-minded people I was eager to explore how we can bring this into our workplace where people usually work in teams on projects.
Codeathons can be fun and productive.
What is a codeathon?
A codeathon is a day (or 2 or 3) where you and your colleagues get together to build something ‘useful’ in 24 hours or less.
If you’re thinking this sounds like a hackathon, you’d be right. A hackathon is basically the same thing but with an emphasis on building something new and cool, whereas codeathons are more likely to focus on solving a problem our customers have.
Either way, they are both great ways to get together with your colleagues to learn new things, work on projects of interest to you, share knowledge and generally have fun.
Codeathons don’t need to be complicated to organise and most importantly they don’t need to be complicated for your colleagues to take part in.
A codeathon is a hackathon where the focus is solely on writing code.
Codeathons are an opportunity to work on an idea you always wanted to work on, get feedback from others, learn from others and have fun.
Codeathons typically last for one day, but can be extended or shorter than this. They can take place in a company or at a co-working space.
When I was a newbie developer, I had heard about hackathons, attended some and I loved them. I have learnt so much from the people who attended them and it gave me the time and space to try out different things and develop skills that would otherwise take me months to do in my normal routine.
I used to think hackathons were only for developers but this is not true! Designers, marketers, product owners and anyone else with an idea are welcome. It’s really important that as engineers we realize that we don’t have to be able to write 100% of the code ourselves to get something off the ground. If you are able to write even 20% of the code yourself, it will make it so much easier for you to communicate your ideas with the rest of the team.
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Software development is a craft, it’s an art. It is both analytical and creative. Software development is a blend of human skills, component engineering and system design. It’s a blend of the technical and non-technical. It’s a blend of people working together to achieve the same goal.
Software development is not something you do in isolation or on your own, it’s a team sport; it requires collaboration between people who know what they are doing to get the job done. The best programmers are those who can work well with other programmers. You need to be able to collaborate, communicate and understand each other to work together effectively as an efficient team.
A codeathon is a great way for your software developers to learn how to work better together using their existing skills in a fun and engaging way, encouraging them to develop new skills, whilst at the same time learning new technologies and improving their productivity.
Codeathons are a medium to get the best brains focused on solving the most pressing problems. Codeathons can be used to encourage innovation. Codeathons can be used as recruiting tools. Codeathons can be used as internal employee engagement exercises.
A codeathon is typically a 24 or 48 hour event that brings together developers, designers, product managers and other experts with business leaders and partners to solve real business problems with technology. A codeathon usually starts with a brainstorming session where participants present ideas for apps and then select the idea they want to work on during the event. After that, teams are formed and then each team focuses on designing and developing a solution for their selected idea.
A codeathon is not only about building cool stuff, but also about showcasing your skills, learning from the experts and having fun. A codeathon offers a unique opportunity to build deep connections with people who share your passion for technology and innovation in an atmosphere that encourages collaboration and creativity. The main goal of a codeathon is to produce actual working applications or prototypes that solve real business problems in a creative way using modern technologies like social media, mobile platforms, cloud computing etc..
Codeathons are fun, collaborative events that bring together coders and non-coders to solve
A codeathon or a hackathon is a gathering where programmers and others interested in computer programming collaborate intensively on software projects.
Codeathons are considered a type of event different from hackathons, which are usually oriented towards hackers and hobbyists.
The goal of a codeathon as opposed to a hackathon is less about producing working software than it is about solving specific problems.
A codeathon is meant to be more corporate and formal than hacker events organized by enthusiasts. Codeathon participants are usually professionals who work for corporations and organizations with the purpose of creating open source software for non-profits or internal teams.
It’s been a while since we had one, but it’s time to set a date for the next codeathon. The last was a great success, and we’ve been wanting to do another one. Initially, we were going to wait until closer to the end of the year, but after at least three people asked us when the next one would take place in the last week, and then this morning someone else mentioned that they’d heard about a company that does them every month (which seems like overkill), we thought it would be good to get one in before summer holidays start.
So let’s have our next codeathon on Friday, June 21st.