coding challenges as part of interviews: yes or no?
edw519: Necessary but not sufficient.I always give a fairly simple problem, pencil and paper, a soda, and leave them alone for 15 to 30 minutes.  Before I leave the room, I make sure they clearly understand what's expected.What they do isn't important.  Our discussion about what they did is.  I don't care what syntax or mannerisms they use; I do care if they understand what was needed and what they did well enough to explain what they did and why they did it.Almost every time some good follow-up questions and segues ensue.  What about this?  What about that?  I've learned more about people in the discussion after the problem than from anything else.