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Quarterly ritual · Seen at Atlassian

ShipIt Days

A 24-hour sprint where anyone can work on any idea they choose, then demo it to the whole company.

Why it matters

Atlassian has run quarterly 24-hour hackathons since 2005 (originally called FedEx Days, because you had to “deliver” in a day). Products like Jira Service Desk began as ShipIt projects. The ritual makes innovation a habit rather than a department.

How to run it

  1. Announce the dates a few weeks ahead so people can form teams.
  2. Clear calendars for 24 hours. Any idea is allowed.
  3. Ship something. A prototype, a process fix, a draft — something to show.
  4. Demo to everyone. Short demos, celebration, a People’s Choice vote.
  5. Fund the best ideas so people see ShipIt can change the company.

Watch out for

  • Restricting it to engineers — non-technical teams have great ideas too
  • Never resourcing winning ideas afterwards

Sources

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