[brass_cannon]

I'm not a developer, so I can't confidently comment on the value of specific code evaluation techniques. In other disciplines however, it can often be fairly easy to sort out the talented folks from the merely competent through a brief screening and interview. The trouble with such a shortened interview process is it's inability to determine if this person will be a good fit with the company's culture and team. Similarly, it can be difficult for a prospective employee to make an informed decision as to whether or not he will actually enjoy working at that company.

You can make a very good case that these types of extensive, saturating interview processes do more to determine one's overall fit with the company than their role specific abilities. You could also argue that this is just as important an indicator of one's success with a company as their role specific abilities, assuming some sort of baseline level of competency.

[bmj]

One thing indicator I like use for "cultural fit" (as we don't have a lengthy interview process for our team) is how much the interviewee asks about our team. Are there any questions? A few generic questions? Or some deeper, probing questions about expectations, design decisions, framework decisions, and general culture? If I'm considering a new position, I want to know as much about my potential employer as they want to know about me.

[mjwalshe]

When I interviewed at a coop they had a specific coop interview (after the technical interview) to see if you would fit the coop world view.

I remember joking that you just ask a potential employee if they cried for Boxer in 1984 if the say no you don't hire them :-)