What's Customer Focus Hackathon?
A Hackathon focused on the proof-of-concept (POC) of customer use cases is an event that involves the collaboration between the customer and the vendor team to explore and demonstrate the capabilities of vendors' products in solving specific customer challenges. It centers on developing innovative ways to generate revenue from software products or services. This Hackathon aims to explore and create prototypes or proofs-of-concept demonstrating effective and sustainable software offerings methods in real-world scenarios.
During a hackathon, participants focus on building functional prototypes or proof-of-concept (POC) solutions for specific challenges or use cases. These challenges can be related to various fields, such as technology, software development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, robotics, social issues, and more. The goal is to develop a tangible result within the given timeframe, showcasing a potential solution to real-world problems.
Hackathon Participants
Participants in this Hackathon might include professional service teams, software developers, product managers, business strategists, marketers, designers, and Sales. They would work together or in teams to identify potential customer use cases and design strategies aligning with them.
Hackathon a Time-Bound Event
A hackathon is a time-bound event, typically ranging from a few hours to a few days, during which individuals or teams collaborate to solve problems or create innovative solutions. Companies, educational institutions, or community groups often organize it to foster creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.
Key Aspects of Customer-Focused Hackathon
Customer-Driven POCs: The primary goal of this Hackathon is to create POCs that directly address the customer's unique needs and use cases. The customer actively participates in defining the problems they want to solve. This ensures that the POCs are tailored to the customer's specific requirements, increasing the relevance and effectiveness of the solutions.
Hands-on Experience: The Hackathon provides the customer hands-on experience with vendors' products. This interactive approach allows the customer to get a deeper understanding of the features and functionalities of the products. By actively engaging in the POC development process, the customer gains practical insights into how the products can be applied to real-world scenarios.
Early Customer Involvement: The Hackathon involves the customer from the very beginning of the project. This early involvement helps foster a strong customer and SM team relationship. By collaborating closely throughout the POC development, the team can better understand the customer's requirements, preferences, and concerns, leading to a more tailored and satisfactory final solution.
Addressing Customer Questions and Concerns: During the Hackathon, the customer has the opportunity to ask questions and express concerns related to the vendors' products. The vendors' team can provide real-time support, clarification, and guidance to address these queries effectively. This interactive dialogue ensures that any doubts or reservations the customer may have are promptly resolved, building confidence in the product's capabilities.
How the Hackathon Might Unfold?
Problem Identification: Participants would be presented with various software products or services and their functionalities. They would identify target customer segments and their specific needs, pain points, and use cases related to the software.
Strategy Brainstorming: Teams would brainstorm creative and viable ways to build the software while providing value to customers. This could involve exploring different pricing models, subscription plans, freemium offerings, in-app purchases, advertising integration, or other innovative approaches.
Prototype Development: Based on the chosen monetization strategies, teams would start building POCs of their software solutions. These prototypes should showcase how the software meets customer needs and how the methods are seamlessly integrated.
User Experience and Design: User experience (UX) and design play a crucial role in software implementation success. Participants would focus on creating intuitive interfaces and engaging user experiences that encourage customers to adopt and continue using the software.
Business Viability Analysis: Alongside technical development, teams would perform business viability analyses to assess the financial potential of their software models. This would involve calculating potential revenue streams, customer acquisition costs, and overall profitability.
Pitching and Presentation: At the end of the Hackathon, teams would present their POCs and strategies to a panel of judges. They would explain the customer use cases, the value proposition of their software, and the revenue generation potential.
Evaluation and Winners: The judges would evaluate the POCs based on factors like innovation, feasibility, customer relevance, and revenue potential. The winning teams would be selected and awarded based on the quality and viability of their software solutions.
Why Hackathon?
Advantages of Hackathon for POC of Customer Use Cases:
Defines Customer's Overall Goal: A hackathon focused on customer use cases allows the customer to clearly define their specific goals and objectives.
Discovery of Customer Requirements/Use Cases: The interactive nature of a hackathon encourages active communication between the customer and the vendor's team. This facilitates the discovery of additional requirements and use cases that might not have been apparent initially.
Facilitates Decision-Making: By experiencing the POC firsthand, the customer understands the capabilities and potential benefits of the vendors' products.
Project Success and Reduced Design Changes: Involving the customer in the POC development from the beginning increases the chances of project success.
Disadvantages of Hackathon for POC of Customer Use Cases:
Focus on POC Only: While a hackathon is a powerful way to showcase the capabilities of vendors' products through POCs, it may lead to the customer focusing solely on the POC and not considering other aspects of the implementation or post-POC requirements. It is essential to ensure that the customer's perspective is balanced and takes into account the entire project scope.
Not Applicable to All Customers: Hackathons might not be suitable for every customer, especially if the customer's requirements are highly complex or if the POC requires significant resources and time commitment. Additionally, some customers may prefer a more traditional approach to product evaluation and selection. Understanding the customer's preferences and needs is crucial in determining the suitability of a hackathon for each situation.
Summary
Overall, the Hackathon that focuses on the POC of customer use cases, done in collaboration with the vendor's team, is an excellent approach to demonstrating the value and versatility of vendors' products. It allows the customer to actively engage with the products, gain hands-on experience, and receive personalized support, resulting in a more positive and productive customer experience. This customer-centric approach also facilitates valuable feedback and insights that can contribute to further improvements and enhancements of the vendor's products.
