Every hackathon on Devpost has a Participants tab and some hackathons also have separate community channels like Slack or Discord to help you find team members (here is an article on using the Participants tab).
However, we all know that building a team in a virtual environment can be tough, so we’ve put together some tips that will help you build a great team, communicate effectively and work productively together.
Build a great team
- Diversify your team roles. Depending on the requirements of the hackathon, search for different roles in the Participants tab of a hackathon, then consider teaming up with individuals who are skilled in a variety of areas (e.g. front-end development, full stack, project management, product management and/or design).
- Introduce yourself and your skill set. Let others know what role you can play on the team before joining to make sure it is a good fit. If you have an idea of what you’d like to build, share the basic concept to attract other passionate team members.
- Identify strengths. Divide tasks based on each team member’s strengths and skills for a more efficient working environment.
Communicate effectively
- Be respectful of different backgrounds. Virtual hackathons attract developers from all over the globe — it's important to be respectful of various communication styles, location (e.g. timezones), and lifestyle.
- Hold positive and realistic expectations. Be mindful of team members’ time and commitments outside of the hackathon, then set realistic milestones that will help you move forward with your project.
- Devpost community guidelines. When in doubt, refer to our community guidelines to uphold a positive and collaborative environment.
Work productively together
- Learn and share knowledge. Hackathons are a great way to acquire new skills, so be sure to share the resources you used with team members.
- Acknowledge feedback. Maintain a positive feedback loop and give specific recommendations on what needs improvement and how to improve the project together.
- Praise contributions. No matter how big or small, celebrate successes (e.g. fixing a bug or deploying your app) and continually give praise to your other team members.
Be sure to keep the above in mind when you’re looking for team members on the Participants page of a hackathon or in the community chats.
Other resources to help you with your team building:
- Mozilla Open Leadership Training Series: This is for anyone starting up or leading open projects– project leads, collaborators, or small groups of co-leaders responsible for project success and growth.
- The Full Guide to Managing Remote Developers Effectively: 9 tips on working with remote developers.
- The secret to remote agile teams: Strategies to help bridge the distance gap between local and remote offices, and ideas to help mitigate other potential issues as well.
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Have more questions? Join us on Discord where the Devpost team is available Mon-Fri from 9-5 ET to assist you!