I interviewed for a different position at a company 2 months ago in Seattle. Had 3 phone interviews, then got called in for an on-site interview which I had to

I interviewed for a different position at a company 2 months ago in Seattle. Had 3 phone interviews, then got called in for an on-site interview which I had to fly to requiring me to take 1.5 days off of work. I get there ask them if this goes well what are the next steps, they proceeded to tell me that I would need to do a take home assignment that would take a week to complete and if that went well another on-site interview. Is that really necessary? I was going to turn down the position in the end due to cultural differences. In the end I didn't get the position due to lack of technical proficiency though I was only asked behavioral questions. Waste of time.