Hackathons/Wikimania 2017 Lessons Learned
This page is a combination of feedback from a survey sent to participants and ideas from the organizers.
For more information about the event please see: https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hackathon
The Best edit
The Worst edit
Suggested Changes for next time edit
Background on Feedback Survey edit
- This feedback about the Wikimania Hackathon 2017 was a section in the main Wikimania feedback survey which was shown only to respondents who indicated that they had attended the hackathon.
- The survey was first sent out on <ADD DATE>
- 52 people responded to the Hackathon Feedback Survey
Qualitative Feedback edit
This feedback is based on fill in the blank comments, grouped into similar themes, interoperated by rfarrand and listed in order of most-commented
Mentoring Program and Newcomers edit
What worked well with the mentoring program? edit
- Good mentors
- Visible
- Matching interests
- Results achieved
- Met people
- Got help
- Learned
- Telegram worked
- Posters worked
What should be improved about the mentoring program? edit
- Not enough mentees / not enough mentees in my area
- More projects
- Whiteboards instead of paper
- Where to go for different programming language help
- Helpdesk and mentoring area should be close
- After poster session newcomers had time finding mentors
Questions for Newcomers edit
How did you experience the amount of new information you got? (e.g. I wanted more, I felt overwhelmed, I followed along well) edit
- I followed along well / it was the right amount / good: 15 people
- Wanted more information: 2 people
- Wanted less information: 2 people
- Didn't get much new info: 1 person
How did you experience the social atmosphere? edit
- It was good / something positive: 18 people
- Mentions the friendly atmosphere: 4 people
- Hard to meet people: 3 people
After attending the hackathon, would you feel prepared enough to keep working on MediaWiki projects? edit
- Yes: 17 people
- I am already paid to do this: 2 people
- Not yet: 2 people
- Not specifically on mediawiki: 1 person
- probably: 1 person
What did you find most confusing about the existing Wikimedia technical documentation? edit
Which Wikimedia technical documentation pages were the most useful for you? edit
What Wikimedia technical documentation did you want to find, but couldn't find? edit
What was the most interesting conversation which you had with other community members? edit
Programs and Collaboration
Opening / Closing Sessions
Sessions/Schedule
Accomplishments
Anything else?
Quantitate Feedback edit
This is data straight from the feedback survey
How would you describe your experience as a developer? edit
(Choose the option that best describes your experience level)
52 responses
- I am not a developer: 17.3%
- Beginner (just starting out): 9.6%
- Intermediate (less than 5 years) 21.2%
- Advanced (more than 5 years or have a high level of knowledge in my area): 51.9%
Including this event, how many Wikimedia or Wikimania hackathons have you attended? edit
52 responses
- 1: 13.5%
- 2: 13.5%
- 3: 17.3%
- 4:7.7%
- 5: 5.8%
- 6 or more: 42.3%
How would you describe your overall experience at the Hackathon? edit
52 responses
- Very Positive: 48.1%
- Positive: 50%
- Neither Negative nor Positive: 1.9%
- Negative: 0%
- Very Negative: 0%
Mentoring Program and Newcomers edit
Did you participate in the mentoring and newcomers program edit
52 responses
- Yes, as a newcomer: 9.6%
- Yes, a mentor: 19.2%
- I helped in another way: 11.5%
- No: 59.6%
If you participated please rate your overall experience with the mentoring program edit
21 responses
- Very Positive: 19%
- Positive: 38.1%
- Neither Negative nor Positive: 42.9%
- Negative: 0%
- Very Negative: 0%
Questions for Newcomers edit
Did you also attend the main Wikimania Conference? edit
39 responses
- Yes: 100%
- No: 0%
How useful did you find the sessions for newcomers? edit
27 responses
- Completely Useful: 3.7%
- Mostly Useful: 14.8%
- Moderately Useful: 7.4%
- Somewhat Useful: 0%
- Not at all Useful: 0%
- Did not attend: 74.1%
Programs and Collaboration edit
edit
50 responses
- Completely Useful: 2%
- Mostly Useful: 18%
- Moderately Useful: 14%
- Somewhat Useful: 4%
- Not at all Useful: 2%
- Did not use: 60%
How was it to find people to work with? edit
48 responses
- Very Easy: 18.8%
- Easy: 41.7%
- Neither Easy nor Difficult: 33.3%
- Difficult: 6.3%
- Very Difficult: 0%
Did you participate in the volunteering program? edit
21 responses
- Event Photography: 5 people
- Event Blogging: 2 people
- Host: 0 people
- Mid-event Phabricator and Wiki-updates: 4 people
- Help Desk: 9 people
- Others mentioned in fill-in-the-blank: workshop with skillshare, telegram, session, search and discovery table.
Opening / Closing Sessions edit
How useful were each of the following sessions?
Hackathon Opening Session edit
- Not at all: 0
- Somewhat: 4 people
- Moderately: 2 people
- Mostly: 21 people
- Completely: 16 people
- Did not attend: 7 people
Hackathon Showcase Session edit
- Not at all: 0
- Somewhat: 1 person
- Moderately: 2 people
- Mostly: 13 people
- Completely: 17 people
- Did not attend: 18 people
Sessions/Schedule edit
How satisfied were you with the selection of breakout sessions? edit
42 responses
- 1 (not satisfied): 0%
- 2: 0%
- 3: 21.4%
- 4: 61.9%
- 5: 16.7%
Accomplishments edit
51 responses (people could answer more than one response)
- Improved a Community Wishlist task: 6
- Wrote code for a new tool or project: 14
- Added features to an existing tool: 20
- Fixed bugs: 24
- Created templates: 2
- Answered research questions: 9
- Worked on research / analytics: 7
- Agreed on a solution to an old problem: 21
- Discussed future plans in a formal meeting: 17
- 16 other responses in fill-in-the-blank
Anything else? edit
Attending this event was worth my time edit
- Strongly agree: 34 people
- Agree: 15 people
- Neither Agree or disagree: 2 people
- Disagree: 0 people
- Strongly disagree: 1 person
The opportunity to meet fellow developers and Wikimedians was valuable to me edit
- Strongly agree: 46 people
- Agree: 5 people
- Neither Agree or disagree: 1 person
- disagree: 0
- Strongly disagree: 0
I would like to attend this event again next year. edit
- Strongly agree: 36
- Agree: 15
- Neither Agree or disagree: 0
- disagree: 0
- Strongly disagree: 0