I interviewed at ITA in 2007, and ITA did the puzzle process better than all but a few other companies I've interviewed at, for the reasons you mention. But don

I interviewed at ITA in 2007, and ITA did the puzzle process better than all but a few other companies I've interviewed at, for the reasons you mention. But don't discount the in-person whiteboard puzzle. I was told I had the second highest score on the puzzle solution I sent in, but I flopped the whiteboard puzzle part of the interview, and ended up not being hired. I think this was a good thing - I didn't have the algorithm skills and knowledge of the other people in the QPX group (QPX is ITA's main business, their search engine - they actually recommended in advance that I interview for their reservation system group based on my resume, but I decided to go for the more brainy one). If I didn't have the whiteboard interview, I would have gotten in and probably regretted it later (much later, I realized that I would have regretted working at ITA anyway, or anywhere in Boston, but that's totally unrelated). During the same job search, I also noticed Facebook had puzzles. I solved one and got invited to interview but never went. I wouldn't have applied otherwise. I guess this is another lesson - if you put public puzzles out there, expect people to send solutions without necessarily being excited to work at your company.