Do you know how to organize a Xamarin HackDay?

So you’ve decided to host a hack day. What next?

We know from experience that organizing a HackDay is no easy task, so we’ve put together this guide to make it a bit easier.

• Your details
  When you first get in contact with us to become a part of the Xamarin HackDay organisers, please send us:
  • Your contact details (an email address and a phone number)
  • A bit about yourself
  • A link to your website/blog/twitter

• Pick a date
  Give yourself a month or two to get the event organized. Saturdays are best.

• Venue
  Your venue will need:
  • Enough desks for the attendees and their laptops
  • Space for a projector for the presenters
  • WiFi
  • Coffee and refreshments
    Day long events require some thought around catering and amenities. If you are not providing catering throughout the day, be sure you find a local restaurant that can seat the whole event if people decide to eat out at lunch time.

You will need a large space to run a Xamarin hack day. Asking your local Microsoft office is always one suggestion, otherwise ask your local .NET user groups where they host their events.

Note: XamarinHackDay.com cannot cover any expenses. The organiser/sponsor of the HackDay event will be responsible for the event costs. Before spending the money, follow the normal purchase please standard to ensure your sponsors are happy with your proposal.

If you’re offering a free coffee to entice people to come early, we recommend you cap how many can receive this freebie and enforce the deadline – i.e. “Free coffee for first 50 attendees who arrive before 8.30” – this gives you a spending limit of $150 (based on $3/coffee).

• Sponsors (optional)
  If you have your event sponsored, please send us through the sponsor details and logo, so that we can display them on our site and on the eventbrite listing page, as well as contacts for a company representative in case we need to get in touch with them.

Email us

• Send through the date and venue details (and if sponsor details, if you have one) to info@ssw.com.
  We will create the EventBrite page for you, as well as listing the event on our page.

• Speakers
  While we are happy to share any relevant contacts we may have in your area, you will most likely have to organise speakers for the event yourself.
  • Ways to find speakers:
    • Contact Xamarin and ask who their local experts are in your area (Phone: +1 (855) 926-2746; Email: hello@xamarin.com)
    • Check twitter (for example, run a search for “Xamarin” near you)
    • Run a google search for local Xamarin bloggers
    • Browse websites like MeetUp.com for C# or .NET user groups

Once you have found speakers who are interested in participating, email us with the following details:

• Speakers name
• Company
• Website or blog
• Twitter handle
• Title and abstract/description of talk
• Email address

• Agenda
  Once you have your speakers organised, you will need to arrange a schedule for the day.
  Feel free to use the agenda from Sydney’s June 21st HackDay as a guide when making your own.

Agenda

Figure: your agenda should look something like this

Download a copy of the Organiser Template form, fill in what you can for now, then upload it to your Dropbox/OneNote/etc account and send us the link. That way we can stay in the loop when you add to the form as your preparations advance.