Wikimanía México Survey Results

This is the report page for the 2015 Wikimania evaluation survey from the event in Mexico City. The survey was carried out by WMF Learning and Evaluation team. Conferences and hackathons had been identified as key programs to develop evaluation insight. This second survey offers more information and data on the process and outcomes of the conference. It is intended as a means for participants to share what they got out of the conference and a platform to collect information on how we might improve future conferences and their evaluation. We hope that the lessons learned through the years help inform the creation of future issues of Wikimania. Share, comment and discuss!

Methodology

Online survey via Qualtrics (Preview of questions)
Data collection:
- July 23rd – August 16th, 2015 (after the Conference closing)
- Conference participants: 886 attendees (133 were members of the press)
Survey Respondents: 260 completed survey
- 43% of those emailed the survey request
- 35% of all non-press participants

Demographics

73% of survey respondents were between the ages of 25 and 44
36% identified as women
34% indicated it was their first Wikimania

Overall rating

94% of respondents said the conference was «excellent» or «good».

Expand data tables

What is your rating of the conference overall?	N	%
Excellent	107	47.56%
Good	105	46.67%
Average	11	4.89%
Poor	2	0.89%
Very Poor	0	0.00%
Total	225

Excellent + Good	94.22%
Average	4.89%
Poor + Very Poor	0.89%

Conference Outcomes

Learning

98% agree that the conference helped them to gain knowledge from others.
91% agree that the conference helped them to share my knowledge with others.
90% agree that the conference helped to motivate me to contribute to Wikimedia and its' projects.
88% agree that the conference helped them to gain a better understanding of others' viewpoints.
75% agree that the conference helped them connect to resources.
75% agree that the conference helped them to join or start a project or initiative
72% agree that the conference helped to broaden my understanding of the larger open sector (i.e., Wikimedia and beyond)

Expand data table

For each of the aspects listed in the statements below, please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree that meeting people at the conference	% Agree or Stronly Agree
98%
90%
88%
91%
72%
75%
75%

Please share at least one learning experience that you will apply to your own work

This word cloud represents the answers to the question *«Please share at least one learning experience that you will apply to your own work»*.

Networking

Nearly all respondents reported having made new contacts they would follow-up with to collaborate on projects.

**Number of Contacts to Pursue New project with in the future**

Expand data table

Of the contacts you made at Wikimania 2015, how many will you pursue NEW projects with in the future?	N	%
None	6	3%
1 to 5	126	55%
6 to 10	62	27%
11 to 15	24	10%
16 to 25	5	2%
Other (please specify)	8	3%

Conference Design and Content Feedback

94% said that the conference gave me the opportunity to exchange ideas with others on Wikimedian issues.
93% said that the conference was suitable for my background and experience.
92% said that the conference provided useful information.
80% said that the conference contributed to reaching a shared understanding of the future of open knowledge.
74% said that the conference increased my understanding of the open knowledge movement.

Expand data table

For the following, please rate to what extent you agree or disagree.The conference...	N	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neither Agree nor Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree	% Agree or Stronly Agree
... was suitable for my background and experience.	240	2	2	13	117	106	93%
... provided useful information.	240	3	1	15	119	102	92%
... contributed to reaching a shared understanding of the future of open knowledge.	239	2	10	35	113	79	80%
... gave me the opportunity to exchange ideas with others on Wikimedian issues.	240	3	2	9	63	163	94%
... increased my understanding of the open knowledge movement.	240	2	13	48	97	80	74%

Liked bests and Next Times

The four aspects of the conference that respondents agreed more with being satisfied:
Your hotel accommodations	96%
Conference venue	96%
Conference catering	90%
Help for any problems you may have had	89%

The four aspects of the conference that respondents agreed less with being satisfied were:
Communication by the program organizers	76%
Conference Wifi	68%
Conference navigation	63%
Outings and evening events	57%

Expand data table

Satisfaction with different aspects of conference venue and logistics	% Agree or Strongly Agree
96%
96%
90%
89%
86%
84%
81%
77%
76%
68%
63%
57%

Favorite Sessions

The top three favorite sessions were: Bringing free education to the world (Louis von Ahn); My life as an Autistic Wikipedian (Guillaume Paumier); and The coolest projects of Wikimedia Chapters - be inspired (Deror Av).

Expand data table

Session	Count
Bringing free education to the world - Louis von Ahn	29
My life as an Autistic Wikipedian - Guillaume Paumier	16
The coolest projects of Wikimedia Chapters - be inspired - Deror Avi	13
Coloniality of power in Wikimedia, a vision from Global South - Salvador Alcántar	13
Copyright reform in the EU - What you can expect to happen - Julia Reda	13
Content Translation - Translathon and discussion - Amir Aharoni, Niklas Laxström,& Runa Bhattacharjee	11
#100wikidays - Vassia Atanassova	9
Engaging with Community Engagement - Luis Villa	8
Pitfalls, protocols and prior planning: A panel on making the most of the Education Program - Anna Koval & Vassia Atanassova	8
State of the Wiki: Free expression and Wikipedia - Jimmy Wales	8

Hackathon

Participation

At the Hackathon, the level of experience for the 111 participants who reported was very mixed, with 50% with no experience, novice or beginner experience as a developer and 50% with intermediate, advanced, or expert experience as a developer.

**Hackathon attendees experience as developer**

Expand data table

How would you describe your experience as a developer?	N	%
No experience	23	21%
Novice	15	14%
Beginner	18	16%
Intermediate	25	23%
Advanced	15	14%
Expert	15	14%
Total who responded to the Hackathon survey	111

Satisfaction

87% of the respondents said the hackathon was a positive or very positive experience for them. About 14% said the experience was neither positive or negative, and no one reported the hackathon being negative.

**Hackathon Attendees: Hackathon Experience**

Expand data table

How would you describe your overall experience at the Hackathon?	N	%
Very Positive	34	31%
Positive	62	56%
Neither Negative nor Positive	15	14%
Negative	0	0%
Very Negative	0	0%

Direct products

The majority (53%) of Hackathon participants discussed future work, and the second-highest mentioned accomplishment was fixing bugs (34%)

What different tasks did you accomplish during your hackathon time? (Select all that apply)	N	%
Discussed future work (RFC, specifications, etc.)	54	53%
Fixed bugs	34	34%
Added features to an existing tool	30	30%
Answered research questions	29	29%
Wrote code for a new tool or project	24	24%
Created templates	19	19%
Presented in the Hackathon Showcase	16	16%
Pulled research data	14	14%
Completed a demoable project	14	14%
Ran a session in a breakout room	11	11%
Added citations	10	10%
Ran statistical analyses	9	9%
Packaged software	5	5%
Deployed updates to live sites (operations)	5	5%
Made updates to deployment tooling	4	4%
Other	18	18%

More on Wikimania 2015 Hackathon Lessons Learned