Judging
8 min readUpdated: Judging Criteria Explained: What Judges Actually Score
Teams that understand evaluation logic build better projects. Use this guide to align your build with how judges think.
- Know your team-size limits before you start.
- Assign team roles in minutes with fewer conflicts.
- Avoid common mistakes that delay acceptance.
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1
Innovation vs. Complexity
Judges look for meaningful innovation, not only complex stacks. A clear new value proposition beats unnecessary technical complexity.
2
Technical Quality and Reliability
Working demos, stable flow, and clear architecture score better than unfinished prototypes with ambitious claims.
3
Impact and Feasibility
High-scoring solutions identify a concrete user pain and show realistic adoption steps after the hackathon.
Scoring Rubric Snapshot
Use this as a final-hour review before demo.
- Innovation: Is your differentiation obvious in one sentence?
- Technical quality: Is your demo stable end-to-end?
- Impact: Who benefits and how is value measured?
- Feasibility: Can this continue after hackathon day?
Quick answers
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