Last week, our engineering team hit pause on their usual work to dive into Hack Week—a dedicated time to explore creative ideas and build things that might not fit into our day-to-day roadmap (yet!). From game-changing improvements to fresh experiments, here’s a look at some highlights:
Think you can out-predict a streamflow model? This interactive game lets you go head-to-head with HydroForecast—and your teammates—to test your forecasting instincts.
Early experiments into improving how we account for streamflow in dam-controlled and human-managed rivers, a key challenge in streamflow forecasting. More to come!
We explored ways to make onboarding even easier for new HydroForecast customers, with clear guidance and educational tips to boot.
We tested new ways of speeding up data processing and making forecasts available even faster, so users can get the insights they need stat. We even built a virtual gauge prototype, asking the question, “What if we could deploy a USGS gauge with a click of a button?” Our prototype generated a realtime CFS right before our eyes. 🤯
Hack Week is always a reminder of how much innovation happens when we make space to experiment.
“Every Hack Week, I walk away amazed at what our team can pull off in just four days. This time was no exception. We had multiple mic-drop moments: complex R&D problems solved, inspiring visual prototypes, and immediately-useful workflows. I gasped so loudly during one of the demos I scared my dog.” -Marshall Moutenot, CEO
While these projects typically impact our products, hack week often impacts our processes as well. It’s valuable time to work across teams and disciplines, providing a fresh perspective on how we work together and assess workflows and day-to-day operations.
“We found ‘cooperative pairing’ to be really effective. Rather than having multiple people watch one person drive, we had many people working on related tasks together in the same huddle, pushing code to the same branch. It helped us stay in sync as we worked on adjacent parts of the project.” -Sam Neubardt, Director of Engineering
As we wrap up another successful Hack Week, we're excited not just about the prototypes and breakthroughs, but about the energy and collaboration that will continue to fuel our innovation long after the week has ended. These projects, whether they evolve into full-fledged features or simply spark new ways of thinking, are a testament to what’s possible when we make time to dive into our biggest ideas and challenge our own status quo. We’re looking forward to refining these ideas and seeing how they shape the future of our products—and we can’t wait to see what the next Hack Week brings.
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