Build With Us at API World 2019

Next week, the Docusign API team will be heading to San Jose, CA to sponsor the API World 2019 Hackathon. Unlike other collegiate hackathons we support, API World attracts a wide variety of enterprise, small business, and “hobby” developers, many of whom are already familiar with Docusign. This shared understanding creates an excellent springboard for creativity and innovation.  

From 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday until 4 p.m. on Thursday, a team of Docusign engineers will be on site to introduce the Docusign APIs, talk about use cases, and support participants as they hack their way to success. 

Our Workshop 

Hackathons are all about fast-paced learning, design, and implementation. On the morning of the first day, I'll be giving a workshop entitled “Crash Course on the Docusign Agreement Cloud APIs.” Expect an overview of our developer offerings and a demo to help you get started with your hackathon project. If you have specific questions, be sure to stop by our booth in the sponsor lounge! 

Tech Spotlight 

As Docusign continues to innovate by releasing new Agreement Cloud APIs and adding features to existing APIs, we love to see hackers integrate these new features into their projects. One new product that I'm particularly excited about is Docusign ID Verification. 

Docusign ID Verification (a.k.a. ID Verify) is the first Docusign-built identity verification product, built on our Identify Platform. ID Verification is one of several authentication options for Docusign eSignature, alongside SMS, Phone, Access Code, and knowledge-based authentication (KBA). 

Developers can include ID verification as part of a POST request to our eSignature REST API. Check out this code example on the Docusign Developer Center for more information. 

This Year’s Challenges and Prizes

The challenges this year are pretty straightforward: present the best use of either the Docusign eSignature API or Click API. Our intent behind these open-ended challenges is to enable hackers to be as creative as possible with their projects.

For each of the two challenges, we will award prizes to our first and second place winners, ranging from $250 to $1,000 in Amazon gift cards. In addition, our first place winners will be featured on the Docusign Developer Center and on our Docusign API social media outlets and Blog. 

Judging Criteria 

Judging transparency is incredibly important to the team! We look forward to evaluating novel creations with the Docusign Agreement Cloud APIs. Here are things to keep in mind: 

1. Technical Difficulty: Is the project technically challenging? Does the project include some new or advanced Docusign features or integrate with multiple APIs? This is the most important factor for judging a winning project.

2. Originality: Is the project more than just another generic social/mobile/local app? Does it do something entirely novel, or at least take a fresh approach to an old problem?

3. Polish: Is the project usable in its current state? Is the user experience smooth? Does everything appear to work? Is it well designed?

4. Usefulness: Is the project practical? Is it something people would actually use? Does it fulfill a real-world need?

Awards 

Last February, we announced that our eSignature API had won a DEVIES award for “Best Innovation in API Services.” I am pleased to announce that our eSignature API was honored again in the category “Best in Enterprise APIs” from API World. This win comes alongside companies like IBM, TomTom, and SmartCar. For the full list of award recipients, head over to the API World awards site. 

If you’re attending the API World Hackathon, come collect some swag and the challenge instructions at our sponsor table. For everyone else, be sure to find us at future events and check out our many other developer resources: 

• Docusign Developer Center

• @DocuSignAPI on Twitter

• Docusign for Developers on LinkedIn

• Docusign Developer Blog