BACKGROUND
When the COVID-19 Pandemic forced HackGT 7: Reimagine Reality to go fully virtual, a crucial element of the Hackathon Experience was taken away from participants. In a remote setting, participants could find it hard to connect with like-minded participants, form teams, and engage with other members to develop projects. As the lead designer on HackGT, I led the design of a platform that enabled participants to find teammates efficiently, fostering meaningful collaboration in a remote setting.
PROBLEM
In a remote setting, solo hackers looking to join a team found it hard to meet other participants. Existing teams also found it difficult to pitch ideas and recruit team members, leading to lower engagement and project success rates.
OUTCOME
I shipped the Team Formation platform, giving Hackathon participants the opportunity to form teams for a remote setting ahead of time. Over 300+ participants used Team Formation to successfully find teammates, and overall, the Hackathon had high quality projects. Team Formation became a foundational tool for future HackGT events, including HealthTech and future Hackathons.
SUCCESS IN ADVERSITY
Hosting a successful Hackathon is still possible despite the quick shift to a remote setting.
USER GOAL
I want to easily find a Hackathon team that has a project I am passionate about, and needs my skills. I want to fill my team with easily with areas we are lacking, and form a collaborative, aligned team.
ORGANIZER GOAL
Promote collaboration and inclusion in a remote setting, and set up an environment to promote high project success rate and fun.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How do we…
Enable students who don't have prior relationships find compatible teammates effortlessly?
Make the team formation process intuitive
Ensure engagement and stability in virtual teams?
RESEARCH & INSIGHTS
I interviewed past Hackathon participants and identified two primary user types:
Solo Hackers looking to join a team
Team Builders looking to fill their team
KEY INSIGHTS
Team formation criteria such as skills, major etc. matters.
Pre-team communication is important for all parties to align before commitment,
Users needed clear notifications and status updates to avoid flakiness.
SUCCESS METRICS
Number of teams formed
Time taken to form a team
Student engagement and satisfaction
Frequency of users reaching out for assistance
Analyzing the problem statements to develop key elements needed in our app
MAPPING THE USER JOURNEY
KEY INSIGHTS
To ensure team alignment, common filters such as skills, school year, interests etc. were needed to quickly align teams and solo hackers.
User flow diagram
With this, I was able to structure the platform into two intuitive user journeys:
SOLO HACKERS
Browsing teams → Sending requests → Chatting → Joining a team.
FOR TEAM BUILDERS
Creating a team → Setting filters → Approving members → Forming a stable team.
THE RESULT
FROM DESIGN TO DEVELOPMENT
With only a few months before the hackathon, I worked closely with developers to ensure Team Formation was able to ship smoothly.
FEATURE ONE
BROWSING AND DISCOVERY
Users can search for teammates based on skills, school, or graduation year, making it easier to find the right fit.
FEATURE TWO
ONBOARDING
A streamlined onboarding process ensures users provide key details like skills, school, and bio to improve team formation.
FEATURE THREE
TEAM-UP REQUEST
When users find a potential teammate, they can send a structured team-up request. The form encourages clear communication by prompting users to introduce themselves and share their project idea, ensuring alignment before committing to a team.
FEATURE FOUR
STAY ORGANIZED AND CONNECTED
Users can track team formation in real time—sending and receiving requests, managing notifications, and viewing team details. The dashboard displays team members, project ideas, and skill gaps, ensuring teams are aligned before the Hackathon begins.
VIDEO DEMO
IMPACT
A STANDARDIZED PLATFORM
With over 300 participants using Team Formation and high levels of reported engagement, Team Formation connected participants in a remote environment to ensure a successful Hackathon. Following the Hackathon, Team Formation continued to be the standardized platform for connecting participants in future HackGT events, including HealthTech and future iterations of HackGT!
REFLECTIONS & TAKEAWAYS
Leading the HackGT Team Formation platform from concept to execution was a crash course in making things happen under real constraints. Some key lessons from this experience:
Time constraints force clarity – With limited time, every decision had to be intentional. Prioritizing the core functionality over perfection was key to shipping something impactful.
Collaboration fuels great design – Balancing input from developers, organizers, and users taught me how to align different perspectives while keeping the vision clear.
Iteration is everything – The best ideas evolved through testing and feedback. Being flexible and open to change made the final product stronger than the initial concept.
✨ Huge thanks to the team—developers, fellow designers, and everyone who contributed—to bring this idea to life! This project showed me that with the right approach, even ambitious ideas can become real, usable solutions.
