Hackathons are proving grounds for new ideas. They’re especially good tools to stimulate the creative and problem-solving juices of developers. Unlike their day jobs where risk-taking may be frowned upon, in a hackathon there is a low cost of failure.

The time limit in a hackathon forces participants to distil their visionary concepts down to actionable solutions.

Outsiders can bring a fresh perspective to business challenges, as well as give an outside-in view of products and organization. Engaging with participants during the hackathon is an excellent way to get feedback on a recently released API: learn where developers get stuck, what they love and what suggestions for improvement they have.