What is the F1 Overnight Website Challenge — and why?

The F1 Overnight Website Challenge presented by VISI is the brainchild of sleepless web programmers — or nerds — at Sierra Bravo. We’re challenging our fellow web professionals to a friendly competition: each team donates 24 hours to build a complete website for a Minnesota non-profit. Teams will cast aside budget constraints and glacial timelines as they compete under one roof for bragging rights in an overnight event packed with great ideas for good causes” — and plenty of caffeine. All it will cost each non-profit is a good night’s sleep during the first weekend in March, 2008. The F1 Overnight Website Challenge provides a fun forum to highlight creative ways for non-profits to strategically use web technology to accomplish their missions.

How are qualified non-profits selected?

Eleven qualified non-profits will be selected for a free web makeover, with the selection of the F1 judges announced on February 18. Qualifying organizations must:

How were teams of volunteer web pros created?

Qualified developers formed their teams organically and online; 11 teams were finalized on January 21. Some volunteers declared themselves captains and began recruiting the talent they needed. Other volunteers started as free agents looking for a team that could use their talent. Nearly 150 web professional volunteered their time and talent.

Qualified volunteers will:

What is the timeline for the event, both in leading up to it and the all-nighter itself?

Calendar of Key Dates

Day of Event Timeline — Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2, 2008

Who is Sierra Bravo?

When we’re not just giving it away, Sierra Bravo earns its keep as a full-service custom software and web development company, powered by nerds. Founded in 2003 by three innovative programmers, Sierra Bravo has grown to nearly 50 people by helping companies strengthen their business through technical solutions. Sierra Bravo builds websites designed to help companies turn online visitors into customers. We help companies preserve their investment by extending the vitality of legacy systems by giving them real world functionality. We partner with ad agencies to add valuable online functionality to their creative web design concepts.

F1 Participant FAQ:

On the site that we are building for “our” nonprofit, will we be starting from scratch, or will we be working with the non-profit’s existing site?

In terms of code, the expectation is that you’ll almost certainly be starting from scratch. It is up to your team and the non-profit to determine whether to salvage content and design elements from the existing site or if you’ll be helping them make a fresh start. Have an understanding among your team how you would like to proceed. Who’s doing what, and what technical tools will you bring to bear in creating a web solution for your designated nonprofit? Consider how you can make it easy for them to manage their site after your team has passed out in a sleepy stupor.

Are there any limitations on the technologies we can employ?

The hosting that will be provided for the non-profits by Presenting Sponsor VISI will support PHP, .NET, RoR, and Perl. If you are planning on using a server-side scripting language other than these, please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate you. Your team can employ any and all technologies you want. But please be sensitive to the technical sophistication and comfort level of the non-profit you’re working with/for. The hosting packages will provide access to both PostgreSQL and MySQL for database. Hosting platform will provide shared SSL.

What should we do to prepare our team for the event?

There are a lot of things for you to consider prior to the event. We strongly recommend that you try to get your team together prior to the event to make sure you’re all on the same page. Some things to consider are:

What materials have nonprofits been asked to bring/provide?

We will ask that they provide source materials, logo graphics, existing and new content, high res images, print collateral, forms, and any other public-facing materials on a CD.

Are we allowed to prepare for the day by creating plug and play components? Any restrictions?

You are welcome to “pre-bake” as much code as you wish. Keep in mind, however, that since you won’t know which non-profit you’re working with until the day of the event you’ll want to make sure your pre-built components are flexible.

Are there any rules about what code libraries we can use or what we can code ahead of time.

You’re free to use any freely available or open source libraries that you wish. You can even use commercial stuff, provided you’re willing to foot the non-profit’s bill for the license fees.

What sort of environment will we be working in?

You will be working alongside 10 other teams (88 developers in all) in one big room with wireless Internet access, plenty of outlets for all, and projectors and screens to share. You’ll be provided with tables and chairs and you can layout your workspace in the format that works best for you.

What supplies will be provided?

Easel and poster-sized post-its will be provided, and so will markers and tape. The venue will be providing powerstrips, but if you’re concerned about sensitive electrical equipment you’re welcome to bring your own surge protectors or UPS. For the presentation, will there be a web server that we upload our site to, or will we present our site off of one of our laptops? You should plan to do your awards ceremony presentations off of one of your machines.

Is the web challenge a lock in – once we are there, can we leave and return, or are we all required to be there the whole time?

It’s a lock-in! Our expectation is that you will honor your commitment go the distance and be there the entire time, working with your team. We won’t actually barricade the doors or have hired thugs that will prevent you from leaving if you have some extenuating circumstances.

Are you providing development servers or workstations?

Nope, since the contest is pretty platform-agnostic we’ll be expecting you to show up in full LAN party mode with your laptop or workstation in tow. We’ve got the power outlets covered; the rest is up to you. We will have two or three LCD projectors available for team demos and brainstorming sessions throughout the event.

What does it mean to win? What are the criteria by which we’ll be judged?

For nonprofits, just being selected to participate is “winning” since all participating non-profits will be getting a free website as well as some technology training sponsored by New Horizons and a year’s worth of professional web hosting services courtesy of VISI. As for the web professionals, winning is mostly about the bragging rights (though the winners will get a little something extra to take home). As noted earlier, ongoing commitment to your non-profit is part of it, but other factors are the elements that go into a good website: functionality, design, intuitive navigation, aesthetic appeal, and perhaps most importantly, does it meet the nonprofit’s stated needs and will it help them fulfill their mission moving forward?

When we finish, will it need to be uploaded to a server?

Eventually, yes. The presentation at the awards lunch will be done on your local development machine, but you will be expected to work with the non-profit to deploy your site to the provided hosting platform within a week or so of the event.

What does ‘finished’ mean?

Ready to launch and fit for public viewing, or if the non-profit has more work to do in generating and populating content, it should be ready for a demo and then to be handed over to the subject matter specialists at the non-profit to take it from there.

What happens when a site needs ongoing maintenance?

Your team can determine your level of ongoing commitment. While ideally, you’ll want to keep the challenge’s spirit of volunteerism alive, whatever arrangement works for your team and your non-profit will work. In the event that you will not be able to perform ongoing maintenance, Sierra Bravo will provide support to any non-profits that wish at a discounted non-profit rate (or work to find alternative volunteers).

Can there be placeholder content if necessary?

Existing content can be used, but no “lorem ipsum…” please.

What functionality expectations have been set with the client? Do they recognize the need to manage scope for this creation period?

They have been asked to consider “must haves” and “nice to have” requests for their new site. Your team will also play a part in managing their expectations both by attending the pre-event mixer and helping them understand what’s possible in 24 hours and by setting realistic expectations during the planning phase on March 1st.

Some our team members are really enthusiastic. They want to know if the rules prohibit contact with the non-profits before the start day?

Well, you will not know which non-profit you’ll be working with until the morning of March 1, so doing any advance planning isn’t an option.

As one of our team members read over the different potential nonprofits, there was one that they were really taken with, would it be a conflict of interest for them to write a testimonial for that nonprofit?

No problem. This is a public forum where anyone can post. The non-profit selection and team pairings are done by independent entities so it won’t affect your chances of getting paired with that nonprofit though.