5 Reasons Why Hackathons Are Business Agility in Pure Form
At a hackathon, bold ideas meet suitable sparring partners. Hence, they are a great chance to gain impactful experiences in a short amount of time. In my view, hackathons are the embodiment of agility and have several similarities with the Porsche DNA.
I cannot really remember how many hackathons I took part in during my studies and afterwards, but there were many. And what I do know is that I appreciated participating in every single one of them and was always able to take away at least one positive impulse from each event. Today, hackathons happen to be an innovative way of approaching specific topics. Particularly fresh in my memory is the recently concluded Porsche Digital Production Hackathon, where we focused on things like sustainability in collaboration with AI, supply chain tracking via distributed ledger technologies and automated error handling in production.
The code.ahead.hackathon organized by 42 Wolfsburg, Microsoft and Gdexa will be just as remarkable for me, but for different reasons. For the first time, I will experience such an event from the other side and accompany the project teams as part of the jury. Together with my co-jurors Dr. Christine Haupt (Microsoft), Dr. Thomas Sauer (CARIAD), Prof. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer (Berlin University of the Arts) and Prof. Dr. Julia Frohne (Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH) I will find out whether the energy is the same when you do not actively participate in the projects, but have the privilege to serve the teams.
But what characterizes a hackathon?
Wikipedia says a hackathon “is a design sprint-like event; often, in which computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers, project managers, domain experts, and others collaborate intensively on software projects” with the goal “to create functioning software or hardware by the end of the event.”
And this is where I see parallels to the motorsports DNA of Porsche. Let me give you five reasons why hackathons are business agility in pure form and why it fits perfectly to Porsche’s culture.
1. Customer Focus
The main objective of a hackathon is to find an innovative solution to a real problem within a relatively short period. Therefore, project teams have to focus on the core of the product and the value addition for the customer. The objective of a successful hackathon is to provide the consumer with a solution that precisely meets his or her needs. So you’ll focus completely on this one product and deliberately narrow your perspective to this. This results-oriented approach also flows through every part of our company as a way of working: from production to motorsport to business policy. Full focus.
The approach of providing the customer with nothing less than the best solution is also the driving force behind our work at Porsche. We are always willing to go the famous extra mile because it is exactly what our customers can expect from premium mobility.
2. Applied Knowledge
In a hackathon, you have two major advantages in applying knowledge. First, you’ll learn to apply your theoretical knowledge in a safe space, with like-minded people and a clear goal. Without too high risk, you’ll have the chance to see if your skills on the paper match the result on the road. Second, while being in the hackathon, you’ll learn soft skills: communications, resilience, teamwork, creativity, conflict management and whatnot. On a race day, both hard facts, as well as soft skills, need to work and interact well with each other in order to be successful. This is another sweet spot where hackathons meet business agility and the Porsche DNA.
3. Flexibility
From my many years of experience with hackathons, I can say that from the first idea you have at the beginning of development, there is usually little left at the end. In the process of developing ideas, building a prototype, testing and questioning, flexibility is required. A quality that is becoming increasingly important in all areas: The world is changing rapidly, driven by digitalization and shifting needs. In that context, I really like the following say: “kill your darlings”. It shows how much you may need to sacrifice. As we strive to always go a little further than others, Porsche cannot hold on to things out of habit. Throughout the decades, we have managed to flexibly meet the challenges of the world around us and adapted our way of working and the way we build cars over and over again.
4. Team Spirit
I know that I am not the only one who is proud to be part of the Porsche Family. We see ourselves as a team that is driven by the same, shared values such as passion and pioneering spirit. A sports car cannot be built by one person, so team spirit has always been a fundamental part of Porsche.
The same holds for hackathons. Each team member brings in a different skill set and only together a great product can be created.
5. Communication
As I mentioned earlier, the special spirit is what makes hackathons so unique. Attendees want to shape things. They want to change something and push boundaries. This attitude has been clearly tangible at each of the hackathons I have attended. And it explains why hackathons gain popularity, not only among individuals but also among corporates. All that would not work out properly without good communication. In the early days of Porsche motorsport, they said: “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday”. The win of Sunday would communicate itself on Monday ;-). This ain’t that easy anymore but shows how important communication is.
For me, the format represents the ideal opportunity to work creatively and innovatively by delivering maximal output. The rapid speed that characterizes a hackathon is the final quality it has in common with motorsport. All that is represented in our Porsche DNA and in what we aim for with the digital transformation: extending Lean and Agile values and principles to achieve business agility. And hackathons are a good practice alongside this journey.
I can only recommend to everyone to try it out yourself and generate takeaways for your day-to-day work. And maybe we see each other at the code.ahead.hackathon.
About this publication: Where innovation meets tradition. There’s more to Porsche than sports cars — we’re tackling new challenges, develop digital products and think digital with a focus on the customer. On our Medium blog, we tell these stories. It’s about our #nextvisions, smart technologies and the people that drive our digital journey. Please follow us on Twitter (Porsche Digital, Next Visions), Instagram (Porsche Digital, Next Visions, Porsche Newsroom) and LinkedIn (Porsche AG, Porsche Digital) for more.
