> ...I think of the coding challenge as a way to understand what kind of code can I expect from the candidate. Sounds reasonable in general and especially if i

> ...I think of the coding challenge as a way to understand what kind of code can I expect from the candidate. Sounds reasonable in general and especially if indeed the resulting code will be seen with constructive and qualified eyes, or better yet, a feedback on it will be given back to the candidate. In contrast to that, too often there is too little meaning to creating such a hurdle, when it's just a gauge for discipline and compliance. This is especially true of junior devs, who still have tons of doubts and need direction and good examples to follow. Wastefulness at interview stage may be an indicator of wastefulness of internal culture. Imagine a surprise of a new hire, who would readily jump into the new assignment ... just to later discover that it was shelved, or worse, was given just to keep him/her busy and "get used to the process".