Today developing new product is impossible without using data, cutting edge technologies and software. I don't want to say that very different groups of people can't generate great new ideas. I just think that having engineers in a team and using his knowledge can be extremely helpful at any stage of idea generation: from empathise to test phase, especially on prototyping.
And this is when, I believe, hackathon can go on stage. From the perspective of all hackathons I was involved into, all attendies can be separated into several groups: