Organizing a successful hackathon: A comprehensive guide (metrics, methodologies, and tools)

A hackathon is one of the most powerful tools in the open innovation arsenal. Far from being merely an event for programmers, it has established itself as an intensive marathon of creation, collaboration, and problem-solving. Companies, startups, and organizations utilize them to develop functional prototypes, discover talent, and foster a culture of agile innovation.

However, organizing one that yields tangible results is a significant challenge. It takes more than just gathering talent and coffee. Success lies in strategic planning, impeccable logistics (whether in-person or virtual), and, above all, the ability to measure impact concretely.

This guide will walk you step-by-step, from defining objectives to measuring ROI, ensuring your next hackathon is not just a memorable event, but a true strategic investment. The objective is to leverage creativity and innovation to solve problems or develop new solutions within your industry.

Key takeaways

• The hackathon is a strategic tool, not just a technical event. Its success depends less on coffee and more on strategic planning, flawless logistics, and the clear definition of objectives aligned with the company.
• A hackathon’s success lies in its management and prior planning. Tangible results require specific management mechanisms applied before, during, and after the event.
• A hackathon is a significant investment. To justify it, success must be measured beyond participation metrics, using quantitative (implemented prototypes, cost reduction, talent Cost of Acquisition) and qualitative KPIs.
• There are clear risks and inherent disadvantages. Despite their benefits, hackathons carry significant risks, such as workplace stress, a lack of follow-up on generated ideas, and uncertainty regarding the return on investment (ROI).
• Many teams fail by focusing solely on development. A strong presentation demonstrating the project’s viability, originality, and alignment with the stated challenge is fundamental to winning or achieving implementation.

What is a hackathon?

A hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest, datathon, or codefest) is an event where multidisciplinary teams collaborate intensively to solve problems creatively. Generally, these teams compete against each other to develop the most innovative or effective solution within a set timeframe.

Meanwhile, Attalah et al. (2023) define a hackathon as: “specific types of idea contests in the form of an event held by an organization or group of people on a given topic or problem where participants from different backgrounds collaborate and co-create ideas and solutions related to the hackathon’s theme.”

Traditionally, during a hackathon, teams gather in person at a specific location for the entire event. However, in recent years, numerous tools have emerged that allow for virtual (or online) hackathons.

The hackathon process usually begins with team formation and problem definition. This is followed by key phases such as ideation (brainstorming), development or production, prototyping, and finally, solution testing.

What is the purpose of organizing a hackathon?

• Prototype generation (MVP): This is its primary function. Instead of months of development, you get a functional prototype (Minimum Viable Product) in a single weekend.
• Open innovation: It allows companies to “oxygenate” their processes, obtaining fresh solutions and perspectives from outside the organization.
• Talent sourcing (Recruiting): It is an unparalleled scenario for identifying and evaluating technical and soft skills (such as teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity) in a real-world setting.
• Culture fostering: It energizes internal teams, breaks down departmental silos, and promotes a “learning by doing” mentality.
• They accelerate the development of scientific results, collaborations, communities, and innovative prototypes that address urgent challenges (Falk et al. 2024). Furthermore, the study by Resch et al. (2025) laid the groundwork for evaluating the pedagogical value of hackathons in higher education and provided a methodological comparison for educators wishing to use this pedagogy in their applied courses.

Types of Hackathons

Hackathons can vary in objectives and themes. Briscoe and Mulligan (2014) classify them as technology-focused and objective-focused; similarly, Roy and Laskowski (2017) classify hackathons into:

• Hackathons as platforms Hackathons organized as a platform to create applications—such as mobile apps, operating system variations, video game updates, and web apps—are classified as niche hackathons.
• Altruistic or civic Hackathons. Altruistic hackathons are events focused on addressing “common good” challenges. In these, participants collaborate to develop solutions for complex societal problems, such as optimizing public transportation, innovating education, or managing disaster responses. A specific example of this application is the urban hackathon. Pogačar and Žižek (2016) describe the organization of these events, which aim to utilize information technologies to engage various stakeholders in urban development and renewal.
• Corporate hackathons, organized by companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, are developed to encourage employees to participate in new product development.
• Programming hackathons. Language or programming hackathons are dedicated to creating specific programming languages or framework applications, such as C++ or .NET.

Who can organize Hackathons?

Hackathons can be organized by universities, corporations, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. In this regard, Medina and Nolte (2020) describe that hackathons have been adopted in various domains to generate innovative solutions, foster learning, build and expand communities, and address civic and ecological problems.

When is the best time to organize a Hackathon?

There is no single correct answer as to the best time to organize a hackathon. It depends on the type of hackathon you are planning, but above all, on the operational challenges you aim to solve within your company.

If you are organizing a hackathon to create something new, you will need to plan well in advance, especially to attract participants who are part of your target audience.

Advantages and disadvantages of Hackathons

Like any tool, hackathons offer both clear benefits and challenges inherent to their format.

Advantages

• Skill development: A hackathon helps participants refine their technical skills (such as information technology), meet new contacts, and collaborate with other professionals in their field.
• Corporate innovation: Internally, corporate hackathons encourage employees to innovate, foster team building, and provide opportunities for interdepartmental collaboration.
• Networking and learning: Romeo-Arroyo et al. (2025) identified the following key benefits of hackathons: interdisciplinary collaboration, networking, and learning.

Disadvantages

• Workplace stress: A hackathon can generate considerable stress for employees if not managed properly.
• Lack of follow-up: Managing the ideas generated can be problematic. Often, there is no clear follow-up process to examine or evaluate the feasibility of the proposed solutions.
• Costs vs. ROI: Hackathons involve a significant investment of time, cost, and resources, with no clear guarantee of return on investment (ROI) (Roy and Laskowski, 2017).
• Format limitations: The research by Romeo-Arroyo et al. (2025) also identified limitations inherent to the format: the brief timeframe can limit the depth and comprehensiveness of the solutions developed.

How to organize a Hackathon

Successfully executing a hackathon requires adequate planning. Below, we provide the guidelines to make it happen.

Hackathon management

Haefliger et al. (2025) identified three distinct orchestration mechanisms that are key to managing hackathons:

1. Relational brokering: Focuses on providing access to networks, bringing diverse networks together, and facilitating interactions between actors for value creation.
2. Contextual configuring: Involves creating a structured and supportive environment for learning, experimentation, and experiences, ensuring that “solvers” have the necessary resources and that the solutions are relevant to partners.
3. Legitimacy building: Seeks to attract acceptance, resources, and attention to the hackathon’s theme, technology, or solution, which in turn confers recognition and credibility to the participants and partners.

Furthermore, the researchers conclude that these three mechanisms are distributed throughout the pre-event, during-event, and post-event phases, all being essential at different moments to coordinate collaborative efforts.

Choose a problem to solve

Planning a hackathon begins with defining the problem you wish to solve. To do this, you must meet with your team and prioritize one of the key challenges your company is facing.

You might consider a theme directly related to your business (e.g., “How to use data to improve customer service“) or opt for a broader approach, such as “The future of healthcare.” The choice of theme will help focus your team’s efforts and keep everyone on track.

Regardless of your choice, ensure the theme aligns with your company’s mission statement. Do not expect to have solved the problem by the end of the hackathon; think of the event as a “pit stop” on a long journey toward the solution (Tauberer, 2017).

According to Tauberer’s (2017) experience, a thematic hackathon is one where projects are limited to a particular problem. This approach tends to attract subject-matter experts, and the projects generally revolve around the challenges posed by these experts.

When thematic hackathons are also technological, a common challenge exists: subject-matter experts can easily identify problems in their field, but they cannot always translate those problems into viable technological projects.

Establish objectives and goals

Once the problem to be solved is established, you must set objectives and goals for yourself and your team. Goal setting is key to the hackathon’s design; all parties must be clear about their purposes for participating in an event (Nolte et al., 2020).

What do you hope to achieve? How much time do you plan to dedicate to each project? Will there be prizes? These questions will help you determine the level of effort you should invest in your hackathon.

Likewise, you must determine whether you want the hackathon to foster competition or cooperation. Competitive events require considerable organization time, as you must select the jury, define the rules, and determine the prizes and categories.

On the other hand, cooperative hackathons are typically structured around a common goal or theme.

According to Tauberer (2017), hackathons have acquired a somewhat negative reputation because some feature an unhealthy competitive structure or set unrealistic expectations.

Finally, you must define the key logistical aspects: the date, the location, and the budget required to hold the hackathon.

Find sponsors (Optional)

This is an optional step that depends on who is driving the hackathon. If it is an internal company event, you probably do not need to seek sponsors; however, if the problem they seek to solve is sectoral or social, having sponsors will help you cover the event costs and the prizes you will award to the winning teams.

Sponsors can provide money, a venue, food, t-shirts, etc. In return, you could offer to promote their products or services among the hackathon attendees.

Promoting the Hackathon

To promote the hackathon, you must prepare a presentation or a webpage mentioning the objectives, terms, and details of the event. Nolte et al. (2020) present some examples of timelines for organizing two common types of hackathons, which begin 4 months before the scheduled event day.

At this stage, you must answer questions such as: What is the event’s target audience? When should you start contracting services? How will you attract interest and attention to the hackathon?

You must also have an online registration form (e.g., Google Forms), where you can request:

• Name
• Email
• What type of “hacker” are you? (e.g., developer, designer, data scientist, subject-matter expert, government official, communicator, advisor, consultant, etc.)
• What is your interest in the hackathon?
• How did you hear about the event?
• Special needs or requirements.

Furthermore, three days before the event, you must communicate digitally with registrants via emails, chats, social media groups, Twitter hashtags, sharing a Google Doc, etc.

The day of the Hackathon has arrived

Welcome session

The day should begin with a brief welcome session. In this opening, you (as the organizer) must:

• Introduce the organizers.
• Thank the sponsors.
• Explain the history and purpose of the event.
• Mention the code of conduct.
• Detail the logistics and schedule.

Presentation of ideas and participants

Next, facilitate the introduction of all participants. Some may already bring project ideas; allow them to explain them briefly (1 minute maximum) to attract other members to their teams.

This is a key moment for motivation. Nolte et al. (2018) note that hackathon participants perceive that their participation could have positive effects on their careers, networks, and skill development.

The code of conduct (Non-Negotiable)

In both in-person and virtual events, you must have a clear and visible Code of Conduct. It must guarantee a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for everyone, regardless of gender, background, or skill level. Specify which behaviors are not tolerated and how to report incidents.

Team formation

As the organizer, your role is to motivate participants to contribute their experience, knowledge, and skills. Keep in mind that first-time participants often feel overwhelmed when looking for a project (Tauberer, 2017).

Organize participants into groups (2 to 5 people) and ensure everyone has a role. An effective strategy is to have a list of project leaders in advance. By bringing together experts and novices as mentors and apprentices, the positive side effects of networking and learning are enabled (Nolte et al., 2020).

Development phase (The Hackathon in action)

Once teams are formed, participants get settled: they connect their computers to power sources, access the WiFi, and begin working.

Flus and Hurst (2021) demonstrated in their study that hackathon participants follow typical divergence-convergence patterns in their design process. Therefore, you must facilitate this process to guide participants and foster more successful design and learning outcomes. Likewise, culture manifests in the behavior of hackathon teams and thus shapes the quality of the ideas they develop, laying the foundation for success or failure (Krebs et al. 2025).

Furthermore, research by Kazemitabar et al. (2024) showed that when team members apply shared emotional regulation strategies, they build a cohesive atmosphere and synergistic relationships within the team that allow them to contribute to the team’s overall goals.

Remember that the hackathon is only the beginning of the solution process. Do not put unrealistic pressure on participants, as the problem is not expected to be fully solved during the event.

Closing and final presentations

Hackathons always conclude with a final pitch, the phase where teams present the prototypes they have developed.

Selecting good projects

Below, I describe Tauberer’s (2017) recommendations for selecting good projects at hackathons:

• Clearly articulated: Projects must have a clear question or problem they are trying to solve, as well as a reasonably specific proposed solution.
• Achievable: Most projects will achieve about 25% of what they think they can in the limited time they have. Manage each project’s goals so participants can feel accomplished at the end of the session, not interrupted.
• Easy to onboard newcomers: Projects should have ready-to-start tasks for newcomers with a variety of skill levels. For coding projects, these tasks cannot require a deep understanding of the codebase.
• Led by a stakeholder: A stakeholder (or subject-matter expert) guides a project to real-world relevance. Projects without a stakeholder might “solve” a problem that doesn’t exist.
• Organized: For projects with four or more members, especially newcomers, the project leader’s role should be to coordinate and ensure every team member has something to work on.

Once the hackathon has started, do not interrupt the participants, except to ensure everything is running smoothly, to verify that everyone has something to do, and to keep people on schedule.

The Pitch: How to present a winning idea

Many teams focus 99% on development and 1% on the presentation. This is a fatal mistake. In a hackathon, a good presentation of a great idea often beats poor programming of a confusing idea.

Teach your participants what a jury looks for:

• The Premise (Originality): Is it an original idea or a new approach to an old problem?
• The Practice (Viability): Is this solution technically feasible? Did the team demonstrate they can build it?
• The “Wow Factor” (Awe): Is it an impressive, elegant, or disruptive solution?
• Alignment with the Challenge: Does it directly address the problem posed at the beginning?

The pitch (usually 3 to 5 minutes) must include:

• The Problem (clear and concise).
• The Solution (the prototype demo).
• The Business Model (how it generates value).
• The Team (why them).

Advice: Adapt the presentation to the audience. If the judges are executives, focus on ROI and cost savings. If they are engineers, focus on technical elegance.

Ideation methodologies: Beyond brainstorming

To prevent teams from stalling after the first hour, you must provide them with an innovation framework. Merely mentioning “brainstorming” is insufficient.

Introduce participants to agile ideation methodologies that help them structure their thinking and validate their ideas quickly:

• Design Thinking: This is the most popular model for user-centric hackathons. Ensure that teams go through its phases: Empathize (with the user), Define (the real problem), Ideate (creative solutions), Prototype (build fast), and Test (validate with mentors).
• Business Model Canvas: Essential if the objective is to create business solutions. It helps teams think beyond the code: what is the value proposition, customer segments, channels, and cost structure?
• Double Diamond Model: An excellent framework for structuring time. The first diamond is for “Discover” and “Define” (ensuring they are solving the right problem). The second is for “Develop” and “Deliver” (focusing on the right solution).

Online Hackathons

In recent years, a series of platforms have emerged where you can organize or participate in an online hackathon. We describe some of them below:

• Major League Hacking is primarily used by universities worldwide to host their hackathons; you can find virtual events open to all.
• Devpost Many hackathon organizers use Devpost to host their virtual hackathons. The platform is user-friendly, allowing you to see upcoming events and filter them by theme or in-person/online.

Essential digital tools

• Communication: Slack or Discord (creating channels per team and a general announcements channel).
• Project Management: Trello, Asana, or Notion for teams to organize their tasks.
• Collaboration and Code: GitHub (for version control) and Figma or Miro (for design and virtual whiteboards).
• Hackathon Management Platforms: Tools like Devpost, Taikai, or HackerEarth are vital for managing registration, project submission (deliverables), and jury voting.
• Videoconferencing: Zoom or Google Meet for the kick-off, mentorship sessions, and final presentations.

The use of Artificial Intelligence in Hackathons

Sajja et al. (2024) underscore the growing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies in modern hackathons, while also identifying critical challenges regarding fundamental skills, ethics, and support preferences.

Likewise, Ege et al. (2024) conclude that while generative AI offers significant support in the design process, it cannot yet replace the depth of human understanding or the ability to tackle complex problem-solving when faced with new challenges.

Factors that guarantee a Hackathon’s success

Based on their research, Flus and Hurst (2021) identified six factors that, if taken into account, could lead to the success of hackathon competitions. These six factors are:

1. A clear definition of the problem area,
2. The reward offered for the winning solution,
3. The diversification of skills and abilities of each team member,
4. The participation of mentors and how they communicated their expertise to participants,
5. Jury members must sufficiently understand the selected area, and
6. The participation requirements for the hackathon.

How to measure the success and ROI of your Hackathon

This is where most organizers fail and where your article must shine. How do you know if the event was a success beyond the social media photos? You need Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Separate your metrics into two categories:

Quantitative metrics (The Hard Numbers)

These KPIs measure operational efficiency and business impact:

• Participation KPIs:
  • of registrants vs. # of attendees (Attendance rate).
  • Completion rate (# of teams that submitted a project).
  • Cost per participant.
• Business and ROI KPIs:
  • of viable prototypes generated.
  • of solutions/ideas implemented by the company post-event (the most important innovation KPI).
  • Revenue growth or cost reduction attributed to implemented solutions (measured at 6-12 months).
  • Talent Cost of Acquisition (CAC): If talent was hired, compare the hackathon cost to the cost of using traditional recruiters.
• Reach KPIs (Visual Content/Social Media):
  • Brand mentions and social media reach.
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR) on the registration page.

Qualitative metrics (The human impact)

These measure perception, learning, and long-term value:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Send a post-event survey with the question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this hackathon to a colleague?”
• Participant Satisfaction (Surveys): Ask about the quality of the organization, food, mentors, and the challenge’s relevance.
• Skills Development (Soft Skills): Evaluate (via self-reporting or mentor assessment) improvement in teamwork, leadership, communication, and creativity.
• Quality of Feedback: Collect testimonials and opinions from participants and stakeholders. Did they perceive value? Are the sponsors satisfied?

Conclusions

A hackathon is an event that can help you identify solutions to your company’s problems and should be seen as part of the open innovation process.

Organizing a successful hackathon requires adequate planning, where you include the objectives you want to achieve, the participant profile, the prizes (depending on the modality), and mentors.

Furthermore, if you wish to have a global reach, you can use several platforms to organize an online hackathon.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

References

Attalah, I., Nylund, P. A., & Brem, A. (2023). Who captures value from hackathons? Innovation contests with collective intelligence tools bridging creativity and coupled open innovation. Creativity and Innovation Management, 32( 2), 266– 280. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12552

Briscoe Gerard and Catherine Mulligan. 2014. Digital Innovation: The Hackathon Phenomenon.

Ege, D. N., Øvrebø, H. H., Stubberud, V., Berg, M. F., Steinert, M., & Vestad, H. (2024). Benchmarking AI design skills: insights from ChatGPT’s participation in a prototyping hackathon. Proceedings of the Design Society, 4, 1999-2008.

Falk, J., Nolte, A., Huppenkothen, D., Weinzierl, M., Gama, K., Spikol, D., … & Hayden, L. B. (2024). The future of hackathon research and practice. IEEE Access, 12, 133406-133425.

Flus, M., & Hurst, A. (2021). Design at hackathons: New opportunities for design research. Design Science, 7, E4. doi:10.1017/dsj.2021.1

Haefliger, C., Ritala, P., & Hakala, H. (2025). Unbundling Hackathon Orchestration Mechanisms: Relational Brokering, Contextual Configuring, and Legitimacy Building. Creativity and Innovation Management, 34(3), 594-610. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12657

Kazemitabar, M., Lajoie, S.P. & Doleck, T. Emotion regulation in teamwork during a challenging hackathon: Comparison of best and worst teams. J. Comput. Educ. 11, 879–899 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-023-00282-y

Krebs, B. P., Funck, M., Tomin, S., Wach, B., & Kabst, R. (2025). Unveiling the Impact of Cultural Value Orientations on Ideation Outcomes: Evidence From the International #EUvsVirus Hackathon. R&D Management, 55(4), 1265-1281. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12752

Medina Angarita, M.A., Nolte, A. (2020). What Do We Know About Hackathon Outcomes and How to Support Them? – A Systematic Literature Review. In: Nolte, A., Alvarez, C., Hishiyama, R., Chounta, IA., Rodríguez-Triana, M., Inoue, T. (eds) Collaboration Technologies and Social Computing . CollabTech 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12324. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58157-2_4

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Resch, K., Freudhofmayer, S., & Martínez-Usarralde, M.-J. (2025). A promising methodology. Assessing the pedagogical value of hackathons. Active Learning in Higher Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14697874251330793

Romeo-Arroyo, E., Giacalone, D., Birke Rune, C. J., Kita, A., Michalska-Ciechanowska, A., Korzeniowska, M., Carbonell-Barrachina, Á. A., Noguera-Artiaga, L., Mora, M., & Vázquez-Araújo, L. (2025). Open Innovation With Sensory and Consumer Science: Hackathon as a Tool for Academic Industry-Cooperation. Journal of Sensory Studies, 40(1), e70025. https://doi.org/10.1111/joss.70025

Sajja, R., Ramirez, C. E., Li, Z., Demiray, B. Z., Sermet, Y., & Demir, I. (2024). Integrating Generative AI in Hackathons: Opportunities, Challenges, and Educational Implications. Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 8(12), 188. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc8120188

Milthon Lujan Monja

Editor and founder of “Innovar o Morir” (‘Innovate or Die’). Milthon holds a Master’s degree in Science and Innovation Management from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, with postgraduate diplomas in Business Innovation (UPV) and Market-Oriented Innovation Management (UPCH-Universitat Leipzig). He has practical experience in innovation management, having led the Fisheries Innovation Unit of the National Program for Innovation in Fisheries and Aquaculture (PNIPA) and worked as a consultant on open innovation diagnostics and technology watch. He firmly believes in the power of innovation and creativity as drivers of change and development.