Portfolio demonstration · October 13, 2026
Public-site
usability review
The hackathon website’s participant journey is detailed, but its completed-event state needs clearer communication.
Question and method
Can a first-time visitor understand whether the 2026 challenge is still open, find its schedule and locate results? This is a direct inspection of publicly visible content on hackathon.austinaihub.org, not moderated usability testing. No participant feedback, analytics or completion rates were collected. Priorities reflect likely task confusion, not measured impact.
| Priority | Observation | User implication | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Registration and submission status The public homepage still says “Live now” and offers registration and submission after the July 2026 deadline. | A new visitor may believe the completed competition is accepting entries. | Show “2026 challenge completed,” link to winners and use a separate opt-in path for the next challenge. |
| High | Judging timeline The site shows a July 14 submission deadline, while one timeline item starts technical review on July 9. The detailed judging section starts it on July 14. | Participants cannot tell which schedule governs the process. | Use one timeline source and align all dates; label it as the historical 2026 schedule. |
| Medium | Completed-event navigation The homepage promotes entry actions; winners are not a primary navigation item. | A visitor researching the event’s results has to search beyond the main entry journey. | Add Results and Impact Report links to the main navigation and replace the primary entry action with View Winners. |
| Medium | Getting started The homepage provides tracks, workshop resources, a five-step participation guide and a single support channel. | The information supports beginners, but key steps are spread across a long page. | For a future challenge, place a short “Start here” checklist next to registration and link to the relevant resources. |
Recommended next action
First convert the homepage to a completed-event state and reconcile its schedule. Then test the revised page with prospective participants and partners using explicit tasks: find winners, find the impact report and identify how to hear about the next challenge.
Sources and limits
Public hackathon website and published July 30 winners announcement. Observations may change as the website is updated. I built the hackathon website and disclose that relationship; this is a self-review demonstration, not independent validation or a Rackspace case study.