Demo Night is your project team’s opportunity to showcase your project, share your progress, and get feedback from experts on how your project might be improved.

You will have 5 minutes to present.

Teams can use as many team members as they wish to give the presentation. We do ask that the entire team be present during the presentation, though, so they can be recognized for their contribution and answer questions during the Q&A section.

We recommend the general format of your presentation be:

Introduction

  • Names of everyone on your team, roles they had.
  • Context for the problem your project proposes to solve. Assume the audience and panelists know very little about your project.
  • How and why your project is the right solution for the problem.
  • How will you know your project has succeeded? What impact do you imagine your project will have?

Demo

  • Progress you’ve made over Launchpad
  • Have you made changes from the original concept/idea? How and why?
  • What milestones, if any, have you reached?
  • What challenges, if any, emerged during Launchpad? How did you solve them?

Wrap Up/What’s Next

  • The next projected milestone for your project
  • What resources your project needs to reach it

Your presentation will be followed by 5 minutes of Q&A and feedback from panelists

Logistics

You’re encouraged to bring your own laptop for your demo. You’re also welcome to use the leadership team’s laptop if all you need is Google Docs and a web browser.

Doors open at 6pm on May 22nd. We’ll share the presentation schedule with project teams May 21st. Reminder that Demo Night this year will be at Harrisburg University.

When the team before you begins their Q&A session, your team should begin gathering your things, if needed, and assemble towards the front of the audience seating area.

Tips

  • We recommend practicing, even if you don’t present to an ‘audience’ of any kind, just saying things out loud helps with the editing process and in getting comfortable with the presentation.
  • When you practice your presentation, time yourself.
  • Find your comfort zone when it comes to talking points. Do you need every word you say written down or are generalized bullets enough? Will you have index cards or prepare your statements in the powerpoint deck? Whatever you decide, make sure your project team agrees on one format.
  • Don’t forget: laptop charger and dongle!
  • Less really, really, is more. Keep the number of slides in your presentation to around 10 and be careful not to crowd slides with too much text.
  • If you find your slides and/or your commentary is running a little long, the Hemingway Editor can be a helpful tool to use to omit needless words and simplify content.
  • Remember this is supposed to be fun. Presenting is intimidating but civic tech is a good time. Be proud of the work your team has completed. Show your enthusiasm for the problem space and opportunity to make a difference.
  • Breathe evenly during your presentation and try not to talk too fast (that can happen sometimes when you’re nervous).

What the Panelists are Looking For

So it can help you shape your presentations, we’ve included the rubric that panelists will be using during Demo Night:

User Centric Design

  • How well were users (or other relevant stakeholders) understood and taken into consideration?
  • How might the team better consider users?
  • What resources could they leverage?

Problem / Issue Analysis

  • How well was the problem or issue analyzed?
  • What else should the team take into consideration?

Solution / Problem Fit

  • Does the product address the problem or issue and provide a viable solution?
  • How might their solution better address the problem?
  • Did the team create a new solution or a unique combination of existing possibilities or products?
  • Does the project leverage new or existing datasets in a novel way?

Project Impact and Sustainability

  • How much impact will the solution have on the public good?
  • How sustainable is the product? Will there be lasting need or use for the product?
  • Who might the team partner with? Has the team identified any potential support from outsiders or other community partners (if applicable)? Specific organizations or general groups they should consider?

Presentation

  • What is the overall quality and creativity of the presentation?
  • Suggestions for future project marketing and presentations?

Further questions? Reach out to a Code for Philly leadership team member.