Hacketse VI: The Hacketse Awakens
Comment
Hacketse VI: The Hacketse Awakens
Our first 24-hour hackathon of 2016 took place on March 10 and 11, and great things were made – quickly. It started, as always, with the traditional huddle, where every team introduced their project. At 4 PM sharp, the teams scattered and knuckled down to work.
With just 24 hours to turn an idea into reality, there’s never a moment to lose. And when the time is up, everyone gathers together to take turns showing off their results. The cutoff point is unforgiving – if you're not in, you're out. Every submission was impressive and creative, and with so many great projects, it was anyone’s guess who would win. When we tallied up the votes, a handful of projects were neck-and-neck until the very end. Peter emerged victorious for the second time – in fact, he’s been on the podium every single Hacketse since he joined K15t in 2013. This time, he took first place with an on-the-fly popup editor for Confluence. Congratulations on your second Hacketse win, Peter!
A hackathon by any other name…
Before we go further into the events of Hacketse VI, you might be wondering where the name comes from. The name Hacketse was chosen by vote within the company, and is a wordplay on a local German tradition in Baden-Württemberg, the area where we’re based. This tradition is called Hocketse, and correlates in English as a 'block party'. It’s a day where friends and neighbors gather to enjoy the region’s traditional cuisine, have fun, play games and enjoy local beer and wine.
It’s a perfect fit for us – it’s all about a group of people coming together to make something great and fun happen in a short period of time. But for our Hacketse, there’s more than just good food on the line. The winners enjoy fame, fortune and bragging rights. Well … maybe not the first two. In between feverish hacking, we took a break for a delicious, homemade, traditional meal. Thanks Denise!
Second-time Champ: On-the-Fly Editor by Peter
In his first Hacketse, Peter won the crown. In his second, he took second place, and in his third he placed third. Around the office, we joked that he was bound for fourth place in his fourth Hacketse, but he proved us all wrong by winning it all once again. His on-the-fly Confluence editor is a neat little tool that allows you to edit Confluence pages directly from the reader view. An ideal solution for quick minor edits, or reacting to comments. Peter constantly sets the bar high with his creative, outside-the-box ideas, and we’re all excited to see what he comes up with next.
2nd Place: Stooge by Christoffer, Sebastian and Candid, and Quoter by Mile, Maximilian and Tobias
We had a tie for second place, and both of these projects were about automation. Stooge is a handy tool that automates a whole bunch of tasks for Atlassian applications. Automatically install licenses, flush the cache, create groups or users, copy the current page ID or space key to the clipboard, remove spaces entirely, and configure any auto-text you want… Stooge is your own personal minion for all things Atlassian. Meanwhile, Quoter totally revolutionized our quote process for the professional services team – a truly impressive Hacketse submission.
3rd Place: Scroll Help Center: Drink Your Own Champagne by Stefan, Davin, Jens and Nils
We love using our own add-ons – drinking our champagne you might say. Nowhere is this clearer than our website, all powered by Scroll Viewport. This project – which was one single vote away from bringing second place to a three-way tie – takes that even farther. Using Confluence and Scroll Viewport, the team changed the face of our support documentation. With a fresh, modern UI and search, it’s easier than ever to find exactly what you need, when you need it. It will be going live very soon, but you don't need to wait – you can try it out right here.
Next:
Our next Hacketse is slated for early July. Hacketse is a core part of our company culture, and a much-anticipated event. Our team is constantly growing, and each new addition brings a wealth of new ideas. Our special hackathon will only going get better (and more competitive) as time goes on!
