At WP Engine, our groups usually host hackathons that goal to create innovation via a novel theme. These elective, company-wide competitions enable staff to work in groups as they craft new concepts, remedy current issues, flex their creativity, and have some enjoyable in the course of the course of.
Traditionally, tasks developed throughout our hackathons have pushed significant improvements for WP Engine extra broadly.
In November, we held our most up-to-date hackathon. Channeling everybody’s favourite heroes in a half shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed “Slashathon” noticed groups toiling to enhance efficiency inside WP Engine techniques, slashing underused code and eradicating inefficiencies of their tasks.
Workers fashioned groups of no less than two folks to create tasks that aligned with the hackathon’s general aim.
This 12 months, winners had been divided into two classes—Slashers and Engine Tuners—with the first-place winners in every class receiving $1,000 to donate to a charity of their selection.
The “Slashers” award acknowledges the workforce that finest decommissions code or legacy design parts which are now not wanted. Winners had been chosen via a preferred vote amongst Slashathon members.
The “Engine Tuners” award acknowledges the workforce that finest improves efficiency, and WP Engine Product and Engineering management chosen the successful venture.
Learn on for a fast overview of the Slashathon tasks and awards, in addition to the charitable contributions that got here out of this 12 months’s WP Engine Slashathon.
The tasks
This 12 months’s competitors featured 5 groups, and every made vital contributions to the general aim of slashing via inefficiency.
Reapos
Workforce Reapos created a service that generates new digital storage repositories, or “repos,” and permits customers to view the present standing of these repositories through a kind.
This was created to cut back pointless prices, lower the variety of repositories, and guarantee GitHub compliance. This venture demonstrated a proof of idea that WP Engine can doubtlessly slash 10,000 strains of code all the way down to 80 strains—an enormous success that can save area on servers.
Reaponomics
Workforce Reponomics used their Slashathon venture to create node-reaping automation.
This has the potential to save lots of WP Engine hundreds of {dollars} in labor prices per 30 days as a result of packing the nodes optimally can robotically and usually cut back server utilization as a substitute of getting people test workload sizes.
SlasHAthon
Workforce SlasHAthon used its venture to make sure stability inside the platform, specializing in platform efficiency. The workforce created a course of that can in the end optimize the client consumption system and cut back downtime.
Mesmeric
Workforce Mesmeric analyzed WP Engine’s servers and located deprecated information taking on storage.
The workforce carried out adjustments within the manufacturing system to cease pointless SQL situations and created a brand new course of for information cleanup. This new course of solely retains 60-day-old notifications as data. After the 60-day interval, the notification is deleted.
Slash Slash Child
The ultimate workforce, Slash Slash Child, minimize inefficiency, negativity, and muddle via their sensible venture.
Members of the workforce cleaned up their workspaces and created a gratitude channel in WP Engine’s Slack to assist unfold extra positivity throughout the corporate.
And the winners are…
All of those tasks posed significant concepts and we congratulate everybody who participated on this occasion. Drumroll, please….the winners are:
Slashers Award: Workforce Repos
Engine Tuners Award: Workforce SlasHAthon
Workforce members chosen just a few nonprofit organizations to help with their Slashathon winnings. The chosen organizations embody the Nebraska Humane Society, Caritas Poland, Texas Equal Entry Fund, Cellular Loves and Fishes, and UNICEF.
Slashing inefficiencies and fixing issues
Congratulations and thanks to everybody who participated in our November Slashathon! A number of of those tasks have the potential to make an actual impression and drive extra environment friendly workflows throughout our platform.
Our subsequent spring hackathon will probably be an amazing alternative to make use of creativity and innovation, so take a look at our open roles throughout the corporate to seek out your subsequent profession transfer and be part of the workforce in time to take part!
