Promote InnerSource Hackathon to Level 2 (Structured) (#901)

rrrutledge · claude · spier · web-flow · commit eea68af5a55e · 2026-04-20T21:18:03.000+02:00
* Promote InnerSource Hackathon pattern to Level 2 (Structured)

Move innersource-hackathon.md from patterns/1-initial to patterns/2-structured
for publication in the InnerSource Patterns book. Add pattern to the Mind Map
under Begin &gt; Program Setup. Update README listing accordingly.

CI will auto-regenerate the book TOC, mind map HTML, and PNG on merge.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 &lt;noreply@anthropic.com&gt;

* Move new pattern to tne end of the Structured block in the README

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 &lt;noreply@anthropic.com&gt;
Co-authored-by: Sebastian Spier &lt;github@spier.hu&gt;
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ Our mission
 * [Standard Release Process](patterns/2-structured/release-process.md) - *Teams may hesitate to adopt an InnerSource project if they are unsure of its maturity. To address this, consistent release notes and published artifacts are crucial. These practices showcase a strong dedication to the project, instilling confidence and assuring users of ongoing commitment to sustainable and well-managed software.*
 * [Group Support](patterns/2-structured/group-support.md) - *What happens if a team or individual no longer supports an InnerSource project? Keep the project alive by forming a group of interested individuals.*
 * [Explicit Governance Levels](patterns/2-structured/governance-levels.md) - *Different teams within an organization use InnerSource practices in varying ways, leading to confusion and inefficiencies due to inconsistent expectations of collaboration and contribution rights. Establish centrally documented governance levels that define the extent of influence contributing teams can have on a project, improving clarity for contributors and host teams alike.*
+* [InnerSource Hackathon](patterns/2-structured/innersource-hackathon.md) - *Only InnerSource enthusiasts practice InnerSource during the early stages of adoption, while most engineering teams lack the time or motivation to try it. Hosting a company-wide hackathon focused on InnerSource contributions provides a safe space for engineers to experiment with InnerSource practices and produces tangible contributions to InnerSource projects.*
 
 ### Maturity Level 1: Initial
 
@@ -87,7 +88,6 @@ Our mission
 * [Creating an InnerSource Strategy](/patterns/1-initial/creating_an_innersource_strategy.md) - *Sometimes, it is difficult to convince people of the relevance of InnerSource for your organization and/or to get support from management. Creating an InnerSource strategy, that connects your InnerSource approach and activities to the goals and the overall strategy of your organization, can help in this regard.*
 * [Code of Conduct](/patterns/1-initial/code-of-conduct.md) - *Communications and interactions between collaborators are rude, not inclusive or offensive, harming and increasing the discussions without any value added. A Code of Conduct provides guidelines for establishing rules and expectations regarding behavior and interactions within the community to build stronger levels of collaboration.*
 * [Trusted Committer and Contributor Retrospectives](/patterns/1-initial/cross-team-retrospectives.md) - *A host team working with contributors outside of their own line of management constantly runs into misunderstandings. As a result collaboration becomes brittle and frustrating. Setting aside time for regular retrospectives for the InnerSource team consisting of trusted committers and contributors can help make communication smooth.*
-* [InnerSource Hackathon](/patterns/1-initial/innersource-hackathon.md) - *In a company, initially only InnerSource enthusiasts are interested and practicing InnerSource during the early stages of InnerSource adoption; not all engineering teams are willing or have enough time and resources to adopt InnerSource. In this scenario, it is good to provide a safe space to try and adopt InnerSource through an InnerSource Hackathon event within the company.*
 * [Managing Capacity for Reviewing Contributions](/patterns/1-initial/capacity-for-contributions.md) - *Reviewing InnerSource contributions takes time and effort. This should be reflected in capacity planning, especially for larger contributions. Expectations and available capacity should be transparent so that contributors understand when their contributions will be reviewed and, if accepted, released.*
 * [InnerSource Ambassadors](/patterns/1-initial/innersource-ambassador.md) - *When driving InnerSource adoption through a large, decentralized organization it is hard to understand and address the local challenges that come up in different departments and regions. Local volunteers, called InnerSource Ambassadors, provide localized support by promoting InnerSource principles and acting as a communication bridge between their teams and the ISPO.*
 * [Circle Communities](/patterns/1-initial/circle-communities.md) - *InnerSource adoption is slow in organizations due to limited understanding, engagement, and contextual relevance. Circle Communities address this by fostering synchronous conversations that build connections, close knowledge gaps, and cultivate collaboration and continuous learning.*
diff --git a/pattern-categorization/innersource-program-mind-map.md b/pattern-categorization/innersource-program-mind-map.md
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@
 
 ##### [Dedicated Community Leader](https://patterns.innersourcecommons.org/p/dedicated-community-leader)
 
+#### Engineers lack time and safe space to try InnerSource
+
+##### [InnerSource Hackathon](https://patterns.innersourcecommons.org/p/innersource-hackathon)
+
 #### InnerSource principles are not intuitive for everybody
 
 ##### [Document your Guiding Principles](https://patterns.innersourcecommons.org/p/document-your-guiding-principles)
diff --git a/patterns/2-structured/innersource-hackathon.md b/patterns/2-structured/innersource-hackathon.md
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Now the next step is to drive it across the company. There might be reluctance f
 * reluctance to changing ways of working when everything works well already
 * unclear return on investment for the upfront setup costs that an InnerSource project takes
 
-Even when teams slowly start adopting InnerSource and open up their repositories, there are not many contributors. It is challenging to build a community around those projects, in spite of publishing the projects in an [InnerSource Portal](../2-structured/innersource-portal.md). This could be due to various reasons like:
+Even when teams slowly start adopting InnerSource and open up their repositories, there are not many contributors. It is challenging to build a community around those projects, in spite of publishing the projects in an [InnerSource Portal](./innersource-portal.md). This could be due to various reasons like:
 
 * engineers do not have time to explore new InnerSource projects and contribute, outside regular work deliverables
 * no additional incentive to this effort apart from being acknowledged
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ A typical event day includes:
 3. **Closing**: Thank participants, share early results, and distribute a closing survey to capture feedback and metrics.
 4. **Follow-up**: Work with participants who did not finish their tasks to close out remaining work. Coordinate with project maintainers to review and merge outstanding pull requests.
 
-The winners and participants should be recognized and acknowledged in a company-wide forum at the end of the hackathon (see [Praise Participants](../2-structured/praise-participants.md)). This is important as it keeps motivating them and more engineers to adopt and practice InnerSource going forward.
+The winners and participants should be recognized and acknowledged in a company-wide forum at the end of the hackathon (see [Praise Participants](./praise-participants.md)). This is important as it keeps motivating them and more engineers to adopt and practice InnerSource going forward.
 
 Such an event provides a safe space for engineers who want to adopt or contribute to InnerSource but did not have the time and motivation to do it, or for those who kept putting it off due to higher priority work deliverables. From a middle management point of view, 1 or 2 days for such an event is not much of an ask and hence they are more likely to accept.
 
@@ -95,11 +95,11 @@ All these help scale InnerSource in the organization.
 
 ## Related Patterns
 
-* [Start as an Experiment](../2-structured/start-as-experiment.md) - a hackathon can serve as a low-risk experiment to demonstrate the value of InnerSource to management.
-* [Praise Participants](../2-structured/praise-participants.md) - recognizing contributors during and after the hackathon helps sustain momentum.
-* [InnerSource Portal](../2-structured/innersource-portal.md) - a portal helps participants discover projects to contribute to during the hackathon, and helps them stay engaged afterward.
-* [Dedicated Community Leader](../2-structured/dedicated-community-leader.md) - the hackathon organizers often serve as community leaders who sustain InnerSource adoption after the event.
-* [Gig Marketplace](../2-structured/gig-marketplace.md) - a gig marketplace can help match participants with tasks during the hackathon based on their skills and interests.
+* [Start as an Experiment](./start-as-experiment.md) - a hackathon can serve as a low-risk experiment to demonstrate the value of InnerSource to management.
+* [Praise Participants](./praise-participants.md) - recognizing contributors during and after the hackathon helps sustain momentum.
+* [InnerSource Portal](./innersource-portal.md) - a portal helps participants discover projects to contribute to during the hackathon, and helps them stay engaged afterward.
+* [Dedicated Community Leader](./dedicated-community-leader.md) - the hackathon organizers often serve as community leaders who sustain InnerSource adoption after the event.
+* [Gig Marketplace](./gig-marketplace.md) - a gig marketplace can help match participants with tasks during the hackathon based on their skills and interests.
 
 ## Known Instances
 
