If you're looking for the current Hack Productivity 2018 challenge, please click here! 

 

Timebox. Triangulate. Optimize. Triage. You could create an entire language out of productivity buzzwords—but jargon doesn’t help you hack new ways to get things done. Building productivity solutions that make a bottom-line difference for companies and organizations takes imagination–and some powerful APIs.

Hack Productivity presents you with a new coding challenge for business: use the intelligence of Microsoft Office, Graph, and SharePoint to build apps with a modern approach to workplace efficiency and collaboration.

The Microsoft Office APIs let you build directly into the industry standard for productivity software, using the language of your choice—Angular, Node.js, ASP.NET, Objective-C, or any other—and running on most major platforms, including Web, Windows, iPad and Mac. The capabilities of Microsoft Graph enable you to build smarter apps by connecting to Microsoft services through a single endpoint. SharePoint fills out your toolbox by letting you build content sharing, discovery, and collaboration into your apps.

Use Microsoft Office, Graph, and SharePoint to help all kinds of businesses—large enterprises, SMEs, non-profits, home offices, and schools—do their best work.  

 

Hackathon Completion Prize (200)

Microsoft t-shirts (valued at $10) for the first 200 developers, including team members (limit of 5 per team), who submit a completed eligible application

Eligibility

  • Individuals, and teams of individuals, who have reached the age of majority in their eligible jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry
  • Organizations that, at the time of entry, have been duly organized or incorporated and validly exist, and employ 50 or fewer people (Organizations that employ more than 50 people will be eligible for a non-cash recognition prize)
  • The competition will welcome submitters from most countries around the globe. Residents and organizations of the following countries/regions are not eligible: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Brazil, Quebec

Employees of Microsoft, Devpost, and contractors currently under contract work for Microsoft or Devpost are not eligible.

If you are employed by a public sector organization, please review the rules pertaining to prize fulfillment to a public sector organization employee.

Requirements

Main Requirement: Create or update a working software application that improves productivity in the workplace. Applications must be one of the following:

  • An Office Add-in, which comprises an Add-in for SharePoint or Microsoft Office;
  • A SharePoint Framework web part;
  • An Office 365 App, which is an application that calls Microsoft Graph or an Office 365 REST API (Users, Groups, Mail, Calendars, Contacts, Files, Tasks, People, Notes ); OR
  • A Mobile Office App, which is a native app for mobile devices that calls Microsoft Graph.
  • If you have any questions or issues around the Microsoft Office APIs, please join the Microsoft Office developer community on StackOverflow to get resolution. 

Submit the following along with your application:

  • A demo video (hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or Youku). Your video should include a screencast or demo of your working application via a step-by-step visual demo.
  • Please submit at least one image/screenshot of your application.
  • A way to access your working application for judging and testing—here’s how to do that.

Language: All submission materials must be in English, as well as all written materials. If the video, text description, and testing instructions are not in English, an English translation or subtitles must be provided.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$45,625 in prizes

First Prize

● $15,000
● A meeting with Microsoft Ventures
● Winning Team featured on the Office Developer podcast
● 2 Tickets to Microsoft Build 2017 (2 Build tickets valued at approx. $2200 each, including travel and lodging reimbursement up to $1,500 per person) for no more than two team members.
● Featured in the Office Store -
● Post on the betterwithoffice site
● Microsoft sweatshirts (Valued at $35) (limit 5 per team).

Second Prize

● $7,500
● A meeting with Microsoft Ventures
● Featured in the Office Store
● Post on the betterwithoffice site
● Microsoft sweatshirts (Valued at $35) (limit 5 per team).

Third Prize

● $5,000
● Featured in the Office Store
● Post on the betterwithoffice site
● Microsoft sweatshirts (Valued at $35) (limit 5 per team).

Best Office Add-in

● $3,000
● Featured in the Office Store
● Post on the betterwithoffice site
● Microsoft sweatshirts (Valued at $35) (limit 5 per team).

Best use of Microsoft Graph

● $3,000
● Featured in the Office Store
● Post on the betterwithoffice site
● Microsoft sweatshirts (Valued at $35) (limit 5 per team).

Best SharePoint App

● $3,000
● Featured in the Office Store
● Post on the betterwithoffice site
● Microsoft sweatshirts (Valued at $35) (limit 5 per team).

Popular Choice

● $500
● Microsoft sweatshirts (Valued at $35) (limit 5 per team).

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

  1. Register for the Hack Productivity hackathon.
  2. Sign up for an Office 365 developer account, or get an extension on your existing account by emailing support@devpost.com. (More details here.)
  3. Visit the Resources page to learn more about the required tools, the sign-in flow to the Office 365 Dev Portal, and productivity scenarios.
  4. Find a teammate (optional). Do you have the UX chops, but need someone who can code? Are you a genius coder, but need some design flair?
  5. Build your app!
  6. Shoot your demo screencast video and take screenshots of your functioning app.
  7. Provide a way for us to access your solution.
  8. Make sure your entry adheres to all the requirements and submit on devpost.com before 5pm ET on January 31, 2017.

Judges

Jared Spataro

Jared Spataro
GM Office Apps Marketing, Microsoft

Steve Guggenheimer

Steve Guggenheimer
CVP Developer Evangelism, Microsoft

Beth Pan
Software Engineer, Telemetry, Microsoft Office

Caitlin Bales

Caitlin Bales
Software Engineer, Microsoft Office

Michael Mainer

Michael Mainer
Sr. Software Engineer, Microsoft Office

Dan Silver

Dan Silver
Software Engineer, Microsoft Office

Judging Criteria

  • Productivity
    Extent to which the solution improves organizational or individual productivity or in the workplace
  • Relevance to platform
    Extent to which the solution makes use of the Office, Microsoft Graph, or SharePoint APIs.
  • Quality of the idea:
    Includes creativity and originality of the idea or use case

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