4 ms·
I'm not sure the timer is a good idea. For one, I found the seconds counting down very distracting. It also encourages quick and inefficient solutions that are
by alextgordon 17y ago
I'm not sure the timer is a good idea. For one, I found the seconds counting down very distracting. It also encourages quick and inefficient solutions that are easy to hack out, over more efficient algorithms that may take longer to code.
Maybe you should time the programs, instead of the programmers.
- marcin 17y agoWe are timing the programs as well - with the scalability assessment. Recruiter can change the timing anyway, but we feel that a bit of pressure is good. You don't always have comfy conditions on the job after all.
- loup-vaillant 17y agoRight, but maybe not down to the second. I personally didn't mind, but counting seconds causes a distracting flickering. Maybe you should consider activating it on the last minute only ?
- jakacki 17y agoHm, would something more smooth (analog?) be better?
- dustin 17y agoI also found the clock annoying. If someone does this for an interview they're likely to feel enough pressure anyways. I'd let the test taker hide it and maybe redisplay it automatically with 5 minutes to go. As for comfy conditions on the job - I would hope that default conditions are comfy. When interviewing I'm more interested in how people will perform day-to-day rather than in rare situations. Most programming jobs don't really require employees to be "cool under pressure." Other than that, good job on the execution so far. Reminds me a lot of TopCoder, just applied to a specific niche in a good way. I would even consider using this or recommending it to colleagues for hiring.
- lt 17y agoI agree the clock puts extra pressure that can make one unable to focus on the task, but it's important to know your time limit. Consider making the clock like on http://www.sudokuslam.com/ http://www.sudokuslam.com/ - with an icon right next to it to show or hide it.