Take-home assignment exceeding reasonable stated scope

Take-home assignment requires building complex production-grade features demanding 20+ hours instead of stated 2–4 hours.

Funnel Stages: technical

Diagnostic Epistemic Posture

This observation represents an empirical signal received or experienced by a candidate. In the HOBA framework, an observation is an empirical consequence of underlying system mechanisms, not a causal proof in itself.

Recommended Diagnostic Probes

[PROBE-A-006-1] Diagnostic Probe Cost: low

Action: Define explicit boundaries and trade-offs in submission README stating assumptions made to fit the agreed timebox.

Expected Signal: Tests whether evaluators value scope management and communication over unbounded free work.

Compatible Mechanisms (1)

Run Diagnostic Wizard →

M-019 none

Take-Home Evaluation Fatigue & Asymmetry

Reviewers perform hurried 5-minute scans of complex 15-hour take-home projects, missing subtle architectural patterns and tests.

What this observation does NOT establish:

Does not prove the company is harvesting free intellectual property for production use.

Machine-readable static endpoint: /api/v1/artifacts/A-006.json