Purdue IronHacks

Turning Open Data into Digital Innovations: Hacking with Social Impact
Sabine Brunswicker, December 21, 2015
RCODI presents:
PURDUE IRONHACKS
RESEARCH CENTER
Open Digital Innovation

CONTENT
 An Open and Digital Innovation Landscape
 Open Data Innovation: Turning Open Data into Digital Innovations
 Purdue IronHacks: A Unique Mode of Innovation Experimentation
 The Process: How are the Purdue IronHacks structured?
 Insights from Recent Hacking Activities: Blue IronHacks
 What are the Benefits for Educators, Students, Partners, and Government?
 How Can YOU Become Part of this Novel Movement
CONTENT

INNOVATION IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIAL PEOPLE…
AN OPEN AND DIGITAL INNOVATION LANDSCAPE

THE CHANGING INNOVATION LANDSCAPE IS REFLECTED IN THE INCREASED INTEREST AND ADOPTION OF
OPEN INNOVATION
Google Search Open Innovation :
10/2011 > 8 Mio Hits
05/2013 > 700 Mio Hits
AN OPEN AND DIGITAL INNOVATION LANDSCAPE

introduction
 Initiative to create openness in Government to ensure public trust and establish a system of
transparency, public participation, and collaboration (President Obama, 2009).
WHAT IS OPEN GOVERNMENT AND OPEN DATA?
The Open Data Movement is here… just search

Open Data Innovations: Important for our everyday
lives and activities

OPEN DATA INNOVATIONS
THERE ARE HISTORICAL EXAMPLES OF OPEN DATA INNOVATION; WITHOUT OPEN DATA WE WOULD NOT
HAVE THE WEATHER CHANNELYou use open data every time you check the weather…
without open data there would be no Weather Channel

Example: City of Boston & Code for America, an app
that lets you adopt a hydrant and be responsible for
shoveling it free and keeping it clean for the winter

example
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF AN OPEN DATA MASHUP

Introduction
FINAL SLIDE WITH “WEB” AND NEW MODELS OF INNOVATION
The GRAVITY IS
SHIFTING …
...towards citizen-centric and data-
driven innovations

Citizen Crowds and Innovation
Competition Are New Modes of
Innovation

▪Specify the problem
▪Pay for performance
▪Use rivalry to stimulate
effort
INNOVATION TOURNAMENTS HAVE BECOME A POPULAR MECHANISM FOR DRIVING
INNOVATION; THEY CREATE INCENTIVES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUTLIERS
EXTREME VALUES
Prize-based innovation contests

GREAT SOLUTIONS OFTEN INTEGRATE PRIOR IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS; THE MATLAB
EXPERIMENT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THIS PHENOMENON
Matlab OSS Programming Contest
Source: Gulley (2006)

INFORMATION AND DATA IS AN INGRIEDIENT
IN INNOVATION BUT ALSO A MEANS TO
SUPPORT THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION
THROUGH INNOVATION ANALYTICS

 PURDUE IRONHACKS:
 OBJECTIVES AND STRUCTURE

THE IRONHACKS: STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF TRANSPARENCY AND INNOVATION ANALYTICS IN OPEN DATA
CONTESTS
Aim: Examining and predicting the performance effect of transparency and
innovation analytics in Open Data (OD) contests
• Experimental setting: open data contests building upon data from Data.gov
focusing on: Health, Energy, Climate, Education, Finance, Public Safety and
Global Development
• What level of transparency in open data contests is needed to improve
developer’s ability to innovate? What information design choices and analytics
are best suited to support re-use that leads to greater productivity rather than
replication and duplicates?
• Research Design: A series of quasi-experiments in the field/in class
• Analytical approach: Data-driven and computational research using system
interaction and behavioral data collected during the experiments
• Sponsor: NSF
• Partners: Purdue Hackers, Code for America, City Councils, Red Hat, GitHub,
Socrata
• Duration: July 2015 – June 2017
RESEARCH

PURDUE IRONHACKS
WHAT ARE THE IRONHACKS? NOT YOUR ORDINARY HACKATHON!
Traditional ‘Hackathons’ The Purdue IronHacks
36 hrs of high energy; less creativity 3 weeks high-energy hacking/3 iterations; time
for creativity
Code: proprietary, no sharing of code with
others
Code: open access, shared with others, can build
on others’ code.
Mentorship during the 36 hrs and feedback on
final solution.
3 iterations of feedback; hackers get valuable
user, technical, market, and expert feedback for
constant guidance.
Constant physical presence and interaction Virtual presence and communication; hackers
can work on problems when they wish
Goal: Facilitating Entrepreneurial Individuals to Turn Open Data into Digital
Innovations (Mash-Ups) that Create Value for the User!

INNOVATE WITH OPEN DATA: Create a novel,
cool, and performative mash-up embedded in a
website that helps users to solve their problem
OUTPERFORM OTHERS AND LEARN FROM
OTHERS: IronHacks is about competition but you
get also feedback and learn from others’ work
HACK VIRTUALLY BUT ALSO MEET PHYSICALLY: We
offer a training on open data, using the required
API, and learning about the programming tools.
GAIN & FAME IN MULTIPLE WAYS: Improve your
score on the way, gain reputation, learn (GitHub,
JSSFIDDLE, etc.) and win a prize
THE IRONHACK OPERATES IN 3 CYCLES FOR HACKERS: HACK, BREATHE, LEARN, AND ITERATE
PURDUE IRONHACKS
Photo Credit: Jim Hammer (2009), Purdue Pete Statue, Flickr, © licensed under Creative Commons

Training
session &
Survey (6-
8pm)
Hacking
phase 1
Evaluation
phase 1
Hacking
phase 2
Evaluation
phase 2
Hacking
phase 3
Evaluation
phase 3
21 days
Oct. 28
Nov. 5-8, done
by 8 pm
Nov. 2 (8am) - 5
submission at 8
pm
Nov. 9 (8am) –12
Submission at 8pm
Nov. 12-15,
done at 8pm
Nov. 16-19, final
submission by 9pm
Nov. 19-22, done
at 9pm
Work hard,
be creative
Work hard, be
creative
Work hard, be
creative,
compete
Check out
scores
Check out
scores
Wait…
Final
winner
Dev-
eloper
Expert/custo
mer panel
The
IRONHACK
PHASES
Milestones/
metrics Nov. 22
(12-2pm)
PURDUE IRONHACKS
Completing the
post survey
(before Nov.
22)
THE IRONHACK IS STRUCTURED IN THREE STAGES: IT SUPPORTS EXPERIMENTATION AND
FACILITATES THE DEVELOPER TO TURN DATA INTO USEFUL APPLICATIONS

Technology: The primary measure for technology performance used in this
feedback is the technological errors. We differentiate between three types of
errors: Major errors that prevent the application from working properly,
moderate errors that impede the application from being fully functional, and
minor errors that are 'cosmetic‘
User Requirements: Does the app improve the decisions of a user in West
Lafayette/Lafayette? Does it present more decision alternatives?
Information Visualization: Three core aspects of usability: System affordance:
Does the application offer recognizable elements and interactions that can be
understood by the user? Cognitive workload: Is the number of alternatives
from which the user can choose appropriate? Minimal memory: Would a
potential user have to memorize a lot of information to carry out the task?
Novelty: Does the application combine different datasets in a novel way? Does
the application move beyond standard visualizations?
PURDUE IRONHACKS
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
Photo Credit: William Iven/FirmBee (2014)

RED IRONHACK
IF YOU LIKE TRAVELING TO CHICAGO, YOU MIGHT LOVE THIS CHALLENGE….
“Take me to Chicago with a happy face”
Chicago – windy city, place of opportunities, or just a nice getaway. But Indiana is known for its
abrupt weather changes, surprise work on highways, and we are not aware if we can even get
there on time – it’s always a gamble.
Imagine if you were going to Chicago, but you didn’t know how delay would affect when
you got there. ……..
TASK:
• Develop a website with a mashup that utilizes climate data, weather, traffic, and precipitation data, to
effectively help citizens from Lafayette/West Lafayette to travel to Chicago.
• The website should give them more cost-efficient and better travel alternatives that are affected by
weather and other sources of delay (car, train, bus, traffic, road work etc.).
• Examples of features: zooming, integration with OpenMaps/Google Maps, social plugins, price listing,
travel information (delays), weather conditions in real time.

BLUE IRONHACK
IT’S ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO MOVE TO A NEW CITY…
“Find a safe place to rent”
Which neighborhoods are considered ‘safe’ and ‘green’? Incoming residents, especially
students, have little knowledge about the communities and neighborhoods in a new town.
Many students only look at campus apartments because it can be difficult to find out
information about safety and they are unsure of where to live.
Imagine you were moving to West Lafayette/Lafayette as a new resident and had no idea
where to move but knew that you wanted a safe or green area to live in
TASK:
• Develop a website with a mashup that uses local climate and societal data to visualize where it would
be best to move in Lafayette/West Lafayette based on how ‘green’ or ‘safe’ an area is.
• The website should optimize the value for the consumer in saving money by giving more alternatives
• Examples of features: parks and recreation, how many services, schools, alternative modes of
transportation if you do not have a car, street lighting, closeness to highway, crime rates and types of
crime, closeness to police/fire stations and education, real estate prices, criminal/offender registry,
scales that have the user describe preferences in terms of importance, and addresses etc.

GREEN IRONHACK
WHAT ABOUT THEM VEGGIES?
“I want my vegetables to be cheap and fresh”
We’re all savvy consumers and need to know when to get the cheapest vegetables and
produce from local vendors. With the ever changing weather we need to know when we can
get the best and cheapest produce throughout the seasons.
Imagine you are trying to figure out when and where you can get the cheapest and best
local produce from local markets
TASK:
• Develop a website with a mashup that combines local farmer’s markets data along with weather and
seasonal data
• The website should optimize the consumers’ choice of the most cost-efficient vegetables by giving
them a number of alternatives.
• Examples of features: ‘freshness scale’, price, list of vendors, integration with Google Maps/Open
Maps, distance, comparison of prices etc.

YELLOW IRONHACK
HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED IN A RENTAL?
“Can I afford this place based on my status?”
Imagine you want to move to a new area but do not know availability of amenities, rent
relative to location and wage/salary and ‘reputation’ of an area.
Based on specific datasets from Data.gov and Google Review, you will instantly know what
and where you can move based on your demographic status.
TASK:
• Develop an analytics platform and website with a mashup that can help individuals moving to an area
to make the best decision
• The website should optimize the value for the consumer in saving money and time by giving more
alternatives to housing.
• Examples of features: ‘safety scale’, price, integration with Google Maps/Open Maps, ‘reputation
scale’, rent relative to location, rent estimates, wage/salary input.

Technical Experts &
Company
Representatives
The Potential Future
Customer and Citizen
WE WILL AWARD 3 PEOPLE PER HACK (4 HACKS TOTAL)
RCODI RESEARCH TEAM &
RESEARCH CLASS TECH621
3 Winners per Hack
• Best Solution
• Greatest Improvement
• Greatest Community Spirit
Prizes:
1) Internship in Silicon Valley
2) Invitation to Washington to present app
3) Application to be published to Socrata
Marketplace
4) Amazon Voucher up to 500 $
5) Feature in magazine, newspaper, etc.
6) Credits in class
IRONHACKS
Photo Credit: Daniel Agrelo/Pixies (2015)

 INSIGHTS FROM OUR LAST HACKING ACTIVITIES

INSIGHTS FROM OUR LAST HACKING ACTIVITIES
THE LAST HACK WAS FOCUSED ON THE FOLLOWING PROBLEM
“Find a safe place to rent”
Which neighborhoods are considered ‘safe’ and ‘green’? Incoming residents, especially
students, have little knowledge about the communities and neighborhoods in a new town.
Many students only look at campus apartments because it can be difficult to find out
information about safety and they are unsure of where to live.
Imagine you were moving to West Lafayette/Lafayette as a new resident and had no idea
where to move but knew that you wanted a safe or green area to live in
TASK:
• Develop a website with a mashup that uses local climate and societal data to visualize where it would
be best to move in Lafayette/West Lafayette based on how ‘green’ or ‘safe’ an area is.
• The website should optimize the value for the consumer in saving money by giving more alternatives
• Examples of features: parks and recreation, how many services, schools, alternative modes of
transportation if you do not have a car, street lighting, closeness to highway, crime rates and types of
crime, closeness to police/fire stations and education, real estate prices, criminal/offender registry,
scales that have the user describe preferences in terms of importance, and addresses etc.

CATEGORIES
WE AWARDED THREE WINNERS
Best Solution:
The best solution was evaluated based on the submission submitted in the final
round. 4 equally weighted criteria (Technology, User Requirements, Usability,
and Novelty) applied The highest aggregate score won.
Greatest Improvement:
Those who were among the top 20 percent in each of the three hacking phases
qualified for this award: Among those who met these criterion we ranked them
in terms of number of GitHub submissions with significant changes (changes
related to all categories).
Greatest Community Spirit:
Those who made the most valuable contributions to the discussion qualified
for this award (number of posts, number of other people that found that
comment useful, and expert judgment).
Photo Credit: Anthony/inspiredimages (2010)

WINNER #1
WINNING APP: WEI QING
Used local apartment websites to
determine rental prices
Added flooding data to determine various
insurance rates depending on the area you
live in

WINNER #2
GREATEST IMPROVEMENT: EN-HSIN PENG
Used Craigslist to find latest rental
prices…
Used official crime data to help
you find the safest place…

WINNER #3
Contributed to the developer
community on our online
discussion forum

INSIGHTS FROM OUR LAST HACKING ACTIVITIES
THE 22 PARTICIPANTS OF THE BLUE IRONHACK HAD DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS
20.6
2.9
8.8
11.8
23.5
14.7
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
College of
Engineering
College of Health and
Human Sciences
Krannert School of
Management
Purdue Polytechnic
Institute
College of Science The Graduate School
PERCENT
N=34
What is your college? (in %)

Internship in Silicon Valley,
practical experience
Hands-on innovation
experience
Join a new movement of
hacking
Reputation among sponsors
(presentations to market
experts)
Experience in using tools to
code better such as GitHub
Real-world experience and
involvement with the open
data
An opportunity to create a real
innovation and disseminate it
via a marketplace
BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS?
IRONHACKS
Gives the students an idea of
how they can exactly apply
their skills in real-world
development
Photo Credit: Lawrence Monk/Imonk72 (2015)

Support students’
programming skills
Ability to identify novel
innovation opportunities
YOUR BENEFITS
(presentations)
Opportunity to support research about
effective metrics and information design
principles for coding for development
contests and crowd-based innovation
Support for students to
develop an understanding of
open data and open source
through real world expe-
rience
Develop innovation capabilities
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FROM AN EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE?
IRONHACKS
Give students additional
exposure to coding with big
data and open data
Photo Credit:Michal Jarmoluk/jarmoluk (2014)

Support and development of
innovations that create citizen
value
Accelerate open government
YOUR BENEFITS
(presentations)
Opportunity to support research about effective
metrics and information design principles for
coding for development contests and crowd-based
innovation
Awareness about open
government and open data
Foster an innovation culture in
government
VALUE PROPOSITIONS FOR GOVERNMENT
IRONHACKS
Photo Credit: Thomas Ulrich/LoboStudioHamburg (2015)

Access to innovation talent
Ability to identify novel
innovation opportunities YOUR BENEFITS
(presentations)
Opportunity to support research about effective
metrics and information design principles for
coding for development contests and crowd-
based innovation
Branding of tools/name
Opportunity to support real-
world innovation
VALUE PROPOSITION FOR COLLABORATORS
IRONHACKS
Photo Credit: Marco Lachmann-Anke/McLac2000 (2013)

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE IRONHACKS
Contacts:
Sabine Brunswicker: sbrunswi@purdue.edu, Twitter: @SabineBrunswick
RCODI: opendigital@purdue.edu, Twitter: @Purdue_RCODI
IRONHACKS
Photo Credit: Jim Hammer (2009), Purdue Pete Statue, Flickr, © licensed under Creative Commons

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